Pep Guardiola is desperate to strengthen his options at the back having lost Vincent Kompany last year and seen Liverpool run away with the title this season.
He also has concerns over John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, while a serious injury to Aymeric Laporte coincided with a poor spell of form earlier in the campaign.
Guardiola is determined to revamp his defence, with Ake emerging as a realistic target after being watched by City scouts for more than six months.
The Athletic claim Guardiola monitored the Dutchman prior to the January transfer window but is now ready to make a move, with early talks having already been held.
It is unclear whether the buy-back clause Chelsea inserted in the £20million deal which took him to the Vitality Stadium in 2017 is still active, although the Blues are likely to be the only competition City would face for his signature.
City have been looking all over Europe for new left-sided central defenders as they attempt to close the gap on Liverpool next season.
It is claimed that recent talks centered around including Bayern Munich's David Alaba in a deal for wantaway winger Leroy Sane, but the Bundesliga champions are unwilling to let the Austrian leave this summer.
City are also said to have considered Inter Milan's Skriniar, Shaktar Donetsk's Mykola Matviyenko and Borussia Dortmund's Dan-Axel Zagadou.
They remain keen on Napoli's highly-rated defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who is valued at upwards of £90million and has also attracted interest from Manchester United.
However, City chiefs are yet to make contact with the Serie A side as they weigh up their options ahead of the delayed transfer window.
Ake is likely to cost upwards of £40million, although Bournemouth's asking price may drop if they are relegated to the Championship.
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