Pundit insists Tottenham ‘need someone better’ than Man City defender

Alex McLeish has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur need to aim higher than Nathan Ake in their search for a new centre-back this summer.

Spurs are expected to strengthen in central defence in the summer, with some sources claiming North Londoners could look to sign two new centre-backs.

Southampton’s Jannik Vestergaard, Bayern Munich’s Jerome Boateng and Joachim Andersen, who is currently on loan at Fulham have all been linked with a move to the North Londoners.

Ake was said to be on Tottenham’s radar last summer but the club were reportedly put off by Bournemouth’s £40m valuation.

The Dutchman completed a move to City instead but he had a difficult first season having suffered a hamstring problem which kept him sidelined for a large portion of the campaign (transfermarkt).

It has been claimed that City are ready to listen to offers for the 26-year-old, with Pep Guardiola having given the green light for him to leave.

While McLeish acknowledged that Ake could struggle for regular first team football at the Premier League champions, he insisted that Spurs should be looking at better options than the former Cherries defender.

When asked if Ake would be a good fit for Tottenham, the former Birmingham City boss told Football Insider: “I think they need someone better than him.

“If one of the best coaches in the world doesn’t rate him I don’t know why Spurs would want him.

“[John] Stones was out for a while and he’s come back in so maybe Ake will be like that.

“Just the fact that Man City signed him says a lot. If he’s not been playing at City you’ve got to be worried.

“Any other club would be ok but City have some excellent defenders. If he’s not playing now I can’t see him getting back in.”

Spurs Web Opinion

A lot of Spurs fans seemed to turn their noses up at the idea of singing Stones last summer but the former Everton man has since proven that he is still a top player. So, there is no reason to think Ake is not good enough just because Guardiola has used him sparingly. The fact that he is left-footed and could be available on a cut-price deal could potentially make him an attractive option for Spurs.

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