“The only thing I can say is…” – Nathan Ake breaks silence on potential January exit | OneFootball

Manchester City and Netherlands defender Nathan Ake has spoken candidly over his chances of moving on from the Etihad Stadium in January.

The 30-year-old faces an uncertain future at City after struggling for regular playing opportunities in the last 12 months, owing to recurring fitness issues and Pep Guardiola’s preference of partnering Josko Gvardiol with Ruben Dias in central defence.

Ake made only his second start of the Premier League season in a goalless draw away at Sunderland in midweek – marking a third league start in the last 11 months – figures that signal an urgent need to improve his minutes ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has publicly expressed that Ake needs to play regularly at club level to stake a claim for the tournament, with several clubs in the Premier League and abroad interesting in signing the centre-half in January.

Manchester City want to retain Ake beyond January as Guardiola values the defender’s experience as the Blues vie for a fifth Premier League title in six seasons against a formidable Arsenal side thriving under Mikel Arteta.

Ake is contracted at the Etihad Stadium till the summer of 2027 and in conversation with Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News after Thursday’s stalemate with Sunderland, the defender addressed Koeman’s stance as he mulls over his Manchester City future.

“He (Koeman) has said to me a few times actually that he wants me to play more and sometimes it is difficult to call me up (to the FIFA World Cup) if I don’t play a lot, that’s obvious,” said Ake.

“Every player wants to play as much as possible while also appreciating that the team is doing really well and the players in my position are doing really well so I have to keep going and wait for chances.”

Manchester City would prefer to retain Ake beyond January as Guardiola does not possess a luxury of backup options in central defence, with the Blues still fighting on four fronts in their debut campaign under director of football Hugo Viana.

“The only thing I can say is I keep fighting every time. You want to play every game, I’m not going to say I should play every game because Ruben, Josko, Nico (O’Reilly) and the whole defence have been doing fantastic,” Ake added.

“But every player wants to get minutes so the only thing I can do is fight and try to get opportunities like today and we will see in the future what happens.”

Ake has attracted interest from several clubs fighting for Premier League survival but recent reports have indicated that the defender does not prefer a relegation battle, with his representatives expected to be busy inviting interest in his services as the January window progresses.