After having impressed over the last few seasons whilst at Bournemouth, it was no surprise that the big boys would come calling for Nathan Ake once the south coast outfit had been relegated from the Premier League.
With money needed to help them get straight back up into the top flight again, a £41m deal with Manchester City was too good for the Cherries to turn down.
Ake will certainly give Pep Guardiola more options with his central defensive pairings during the 2020/21 campaign.
The Dutchman might well have been wearing the red of neighbours Man United if things had been different, however.
Sky Sports note that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was interested in acquiring a player who would’ve been perfect for what United wanted from a new centre-back; left-sided and left-footed.
Shoring up their back line, whilst seemingly not necessarily a priority for United, still needs to be addressed.
Unfortunately, with a focus on getting the deal with Borussia Dortmund for Jadon Sancho over the line, and an inability to sell Marcos Rojo, Sky Sports suggest that the Red Devils simply didn’t have enough in the kitty to be able to capture Ake.
If nothing else, it evidences the financial turmoil that some clubs are finding themselves in because of the coronavirus pandemic.