Manchester City defender Nathan Aké will ‘start to consider his options’ in the summer after struggling to establish himself at the club this season.
That’s according to Voetbal International, who detail how the centre back’s dream move hasn’t worked out as expected this season.
They explain that Aké was ‘very happy’ last summer when, despite relegation with Bournemouth, he was handed a ‘second chance’ in the Premier League with Manchester City.
He had several options on the table when it became clear he was leaving the Cherries but elected to join City after a ‘personal conversation’ with Pep Guardiola convinced him into the move.
That was something they sought to fix with the purchase of the Dutchman and Ruben Dias, who also arrived in a big-money move to bolster the defence.
Suddenly City had plenty of options, and Aké, knowing there was competition, ‘entered the competition in good spirits’ nonetheless. He ‘felt Guardiola’s confidence’ and knew that with his footballing ability, he would be a good fit at the club.
The season started well for him, too, with three starts in the first four league games, hinting he could be a regular.
Then a hamstring injury struck, and between October and April, he could only feature in two league games, during which the Manchester City ‘machine started to run’.
John Stones took his chance at redemption alongside Ruben Dias and formed one of the best defensive units in the league this season.
That has left the likes of Aké and Aymeric Laporte on the outside looking in, and the former ‘knows it will be very difficult’ to get into the starting eleven because of City’s new partnership at the back.
Indeed, he knows he is even behind Laporte in the pecking order and fancied his chances at left-back, but Guardiola prefers João Cancelo and Oleksandr Zinchenko in the position.
Thus, Aké ‘will start to consider his options’ at the club. He knows Guardiola ‘has little reason’ to change things and will only get a chance in the ‘absence of a rival’ like with Stones absence through suspension against Crystal Palace.
It’s not stated that that is not an ideal situation for the Dutchman, but it’s hinted at heavily, which would make sense as no player would want be sat on the bench ideally.
Whether he does depart remains to be seen, yet it’s clear it could become a thing this summer if Aké decides he wants to move somewhere he’s guaranteed playing time, which isn’t on offer at Manchester City at present.
