Newcastle transfer news: Toon told to pay £50m for Nathan Ake

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Newcastle United target Nathan Ake will cost £50million this summer.

That’s according to the Sun, who claim Eddie Howe is interested in signing the Manchester City defender.

The Toon boss is on the lookout for a new centre-back, with Sven Botman heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park.

However, intense competition from AC Milan may force the Magpies to look elsewhere. That’s why Ake is a target, and he would be an excellent alternative.

Howe knows Ake already, having signed him twice as Bournemouth manager. He first brought him to Dean Court on loan, then made the deal permanent for £20million.

However, he’ll have to pay more than double that amount if he wants to sign him again.

Ake cost Man City £41million in 2020. He’s won two Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola, but hasn’t played a lot of football. He needs to move elsewhere to get minutes under his belt, but a lofty price tag might put clubs off.

Jose Enrique thinks Nathan Ake could cost too much

A £50million move to St James’ Park would make Ake the club’s record signing. And that’s a fee that Jose Enrique believes is too much.

The former Toon defender has reacted to the news on Twitter. He wrote: “I know Newcastle have money now but I hope they spend it wisely like they have been doing and £50million for Nathan Ake I believe is too much.”

It’s hard to argue with Enrique, and he’s right about what Newcastle have spent so far. The only question mark can be the £25million investment of Chris Wood. That was a case of ‘needs must’ at the time, but in hindsight we overspent.

We’ll have to pay double that for Ake, who is 27-years-old. In comparison, Botman could cost less, and has a lot more potential.

He was valued at £46million in January, but at 22 could be one of our main centre-backs for the next decade.

Of course, £50million might just be Man City’s starting point for Ake. They’ll obviously want to start high and get as big a fee as possible. In contrast, Newcastle will want to pay much less.

Compromise is needed if Howe is intent on bringing Ake to SJP.