‘Happy I stayed’: £45m player suggests he’s very pleased he didn’t sign for Chelsea in the summer now

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Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has told Fabrizio Romano that he’s thankful he didn’t leave for Chelsea this summer.

The Dutchman was heavily linked with a move back to Stamford Bridge this summer, with personal terms between the two parties not causing an issue.

However, eventually the Blues refused to pay what the Premier League champions were looking for, with a fee of around £45m being requested for the deal.

With plenty of defensive options on the table for Chelsea, Todd Boehly elected to move on from the former Blue, instead eventually turning their attention to signing three different defenders.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana eventually came to Stamford Bridge, as the club completed a defensive revolution following some big names leaving the club.

Ake happy to not join Chelsea

While Ake was not one of these names brought in, he has claimed that he is more than happy with his current situation in Manchester.

He said: “I’m very happy to be at Man City and I’m happy that I stayed here in the summer. I was never worried about competition”

With injuries to John Stones and Kyle Walker this season, Ake has seen a lot more game time than he has in the previous couple of seasons at the Etihad.

His strongest position in the Blues side would have been on the left of a back three, or even as a solid defensive option to feature at left-back.

Luckily for Chelsea, they were already strong on the left with Ben Chilwell, who has returned to full fitness this season and is beginning to look like himself again.

As well as the Englishman, the new signings Cucurella and Koulibaly can play strongly in those roles, with the former Napoli man joining for less money than City wanted for Ake.