Manchester City to block Newcastle United's approach for defender

Manchester City are expected to block a January approach from Newcastle United for defender Nathan Ake.

Ake is currently the fourth-choice centre-back at the club behind Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones.

He has started just three league games so far, but The Mail claims that the Cityzens are not keen on losing him.

Magpies boss Eddie Howe has a good relationship with Ake, having previously worked together at Bournemouth.

He is keen on pursuing the Dutchman to shore up his backline in January, but the Cityzens won't entertain any bids.

While Ake has not played much, the English champions are reluctant to do business midway through the campaign.

The Magpies are in deep trouble at the moment. They are already six points adrift of safety after the opening 13 games.

They will go on a spending spree after their Saudi-led takeover, but need to start winning to gain momentum by January.

The Tyneside outfit are the only club in the Football League that have yet to register a win in the current domestic campaign.