Nathan Ake lifts lid on ‘difficult’ Manchester City future talks with Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake has given a peak through the curtain into discussions with manager Pep Guardiola over his limited playing time this season.

The 31-year-old has fallen down the pecking order in defence at the Etihad Stadium this term and often played second fiddle to the likes of Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.

Ake joined Manchester City from Bournemouth in 2020 and has won four Premier League titles under Guardiola in the north-west, though his future at the club remains unclear.

The Netherlands international has just over a year remaining on his current deal and having struggled for regular minutes this term, he has opened up on honest conversations with Guardiola over why he hasn’t played as much as he’d have liked to this season.

Ake’s struggles at Man City this term

While he has never been a direct, first-choice pick at Manchester City – bar the Blues’ historic 2022-23 treble winning campaign – Ake has found it difficult to maintain form and fitness since the start of the season.

The former Bournemouth man, as has been the case with John Stones, has been a liability from a fitness standpoint for years and as he approaches the last 12 months on his current contract, Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana has a decision to make on the centre-half.

Dias and Gvardiol has formed Guardiola’s preferred centre-half partnership this season, with Nico O’Reilly making a name for himself as left-back to keep Ake on the fringes of the starting XI for a majority of the campaign. Marc Guehi joined from Crystal Palace in January, Max Alleyne returned from loan and Abdukodir Khusanov has been brilliant all season.

However, the Dutchman has risen to the occasion when called upon at key moments of the campaign – starring in a 10/10 performance in Manchester City’s recent Carabao Cup final triumph over Arsenal at Wembley to collect their first piece of silverware in two seasons – drawing huge praise from Guardiola.

Ake: I’ve discussed difficult ‘Man City’ situation with Pep

In a recent interview with De Telegraaf, Ake lifted the lid on his frustrations over a bit-part role for his club in a World Cup season. “To be honest, it’s difficult to deal with at times,” he said, as quoted by Sport Witness.

“Also, because I was in the starting line-up more in recent years than this season. I’ve also spoken to the manager (Pep Guardiola) about it. He indicated things are a bit different this year.

“Mentally, it demands a bit more at times. You always have to be ready when you suddenly have to play, like last weekend (against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final). Then people also expect you to be at your best.”

Ake is expected to leave Manchester City this summer, like Stones and on-loan defender Manuel Akanji, as part of a mass clearout in defence for the Blues, who could recall Brazilian star Vitor Reis back to England after a breakthrough year on loan at Girona.