Barcelona director eyes summer move for 31-year-old Manchester City v… — and more

Despite being in the decisive stretch of the 2025/26 season and amid the upcoming presidential elections at Barcelona, the club’s sporting department, led by director Deco, continues to work on planning the squad for next season.

As has been well-established by now, a new left-footed centre-back is one of the priority signings for Barça, with names like Alessandro Bastoni and Micky van de Ven being touted as possible targets for the La Liga champions.

Deco eyes Nathan Ake of Manchester City

However, according to SPORT, one of the defenders most appreciated by Deco is Nathan Ake, currently under contract with Manchester City until 2027.

The 31-year-old Dutch international is viewed internally as a player who could fit both sporting and financial requirements for the Blaugrana.

Ake offers versatility, being able to play as a left-sided centre-back or left-back, which suits the needs of coach Hansi Flick.

Nathan Ake remains on Deco’s radar. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Moreover, within club offices, there is a belief that Manchester City might be open to negotiating his departure, considering the depth in the centre-back department.

After all, Ake has not been a regular starter under Pep Guardiola this season, playing 1,129 minutes across 24 matches, with only 12 starts, many of them in the cup competitions.

As such, Barcelona see Ake as a possible market opportunity in the club’s complicated financial context. Although the club recently received positive news regarding its salary limit, significant financial caution is still required.

The priority investment is expected to go toward signing a centre-forward, meaning that a relatively affordable defensive option could be attractive.

Barcelona already considered signing Ake during the winter transfer window after the long-term injury to Andreas Christensen. Ultimately, the club opted to bring in Joao Cancelo on loan instead. Even so, he remains on Deco’s shortlist.

Bad news for the Bavarians.

After a perfect week and the victory in the Klassiker, Vincent Kompany will have to deal with some bad news for tomorrow night's match.

This Thursday at a press conference, the Belgian coach announced that Harry Kane will be unavailable for the championship match against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

"𝙄𝙩𝙤, 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙨, and 𝙃𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙮 𝙆𝙖𝙣𝙚 are unavailable. Harry received a blow to the calf and is not yet recovered. It's just a knock, nothing serious for the moment, but he might miss a day before he can join us," he explained.

However, on a positive note, Vincent Kompany also announced the return of Manuel Neuer in goal, who had been injured for several matches.

It remains to be seen whether the English striker will be fit for the Champions League round of 16 between Bayern and Atalanta Bergamo.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

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Peter Leven believed there was scope for an injury-time Aberdeen penalty when Reo Hatate dived into a tackle on Lyall Cameron during Celtic's 2-1 win at Pittodrie.

Midfielder Cameron rode the challenge but overran the ball as the hosts' late pressure failed to yield an equaliser.

"The players need to be a bit more streetwise," said interim boss Leven.

"Lyall needs to ask the question later on when Hatate goes in.

"I think he was too honest in trying to stay on his feet. There could have been contact there."

Leven was also unconvinced Benjamin Nygren was onside for his winner during a lengthy VAR check that ruled Gavin Molloy's foot was playing the Swede on.

"It looks offside, but then again, why is there not two lines drawn?" he said.

"There was only one line drawn on our player. I thought there was always to be two lines drawn."