Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has been praised for his displays at the World Cup, with it claimed the centre-back has been enjoying a ‘perfect tournament’ in Qatar.
The defender is currently at the World Cup with his country and has started all of their games so far as part of Louis van Gaal’s preferred three at the back.
He has been impressing too, putting in a series of impressive performances alongside Virgil van Dijk on the left hand side.
It’s a far cry from his time at Manchester City, where he has struggled to establish himself in the heart of their defence following a €45.3m move from Bournemouth in August 2020.
That has largely been due to the level of competition in Pep Guardiola’s squad, and the Spaniard’s preference to rotate his side across a season.
He has flourished for the Netherlands, though, where he is a regular and has benefitted from that, particularly at this World Cup.
One man who has certainly been impressed is Van der Vaart, who singled out the Manchester City man for praise on NOS.
“I don’t even feel like he’s participated. So quiet, so modest… So very good as a defender,” he said.
“I think it’s right that he plays in that position. He is good in everything.
“I don’t think he is the best, but he is quite fast, strong, can head well even though he is not very big. Because of his insight he pretty much doesn’t get into trouble.”
“He looks comfortable on the ball. He is quick enough and does his job well,” added Marco van Basten before Pierre van Hooijdonk concluded with “he is playing a perfect tournament.”
