Joao Cancelo leaving Manchester City to join Bayern Munich on loan for the rest of the campaign left Pep Guardiola short at left-back, but the form of Nathan Ake may have been why he wasn’t worried.
The 27-year-old has been fantastic for City this season, shining as a centre-back and recently impressing in a makeshift left-back role, so Joleon Lescott only had good things to say about Ake in his interview with the Manchester Evening News.
Ake nearly joined Chelsea last summer but is now one of the first names on City’s teamsheet. The Sky Blues are expected to sign a replacement for Cancelo in the coming months, so it remains to be seen if the Dutch international will be a regular on the left next season.
Nevertheless, Lescott said: “Nathan Ake (has) played a massive part (at) full-back. His performance against (Bukayo) Saka (in the FA Cup win over Arsenal) was outstanding. That performance was a highlight of how he’s performed all season.
“Even in the Spurs game he was really good. He was really strong defensively. He understands different positions (and) he’s played full-back for the national team (so) it’s not a surprise he’s performing like this. He’s definitely one of the most consistent players this season.”
Ake has made 22 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals without managing an assist. Guardiola loves versatile players and the 27-year-old has nearly played the same amount of games in two positions, so he’s more than reliable for the rest of the season.
The statistics show that Ake is 2nd among City defenders for tackles per game (1.1), 1st for interceptions per game (0.9), joint-2nd for blocks per game (0.4) and 2nd for passes per game (75.4). He was previously surplus to requirements and unable to get a run of games but is now an important player that can’t be dropped.
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