With Vincent Kompany and now David Silva having left the club, Manchester City are about to embark on a new adventure.
What’s happened?
Having missed out on the Premier League title and knocked out of the Champions League by Lyon at the quarter-final stage, manager Pep Guardiola has not wasted any time in making his move in the transfer market.
Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake was brought in for £41m to try and fix up some of the defensive frailties that have been present over the past 12 months, with the Citizens having lost nine games in the league and finishing 18 points behind eventual winners Liverpool, as per BBC Sport.
Will Nathan Ake replace what Vincent Kompany left?
Yes
No
At the age of 25, Ake has buckets of experience and has played at every level of the Netherland national team’s setup, and has currently accumulated 11 caps for his country’s first-team, as per TransferMarkt.
Before his stint with the Cherries, he was a Chelsea academy player, where he gained plenty of experience in the Champions League and Europa League with the Blues, but under several managers, which harmed his player development.
Working with Pep Guardiola could turn him into an influential figure and unlock potential that he, perhaps, did not know that he had.
Vincent Kompany MK2
Even though Ake did not get the opportunity that he deserved at Stamford Bridge, he was sold to Bournemouth for £20m where he made a name for himself.
His former manager Eddie Howe was delighted with some of his performances, and eventually gave him the captain’s armband for the Cherries during the midway point of last season.
Even though his side got relegated last season, Ake was one of the players that was keeping the team together and even pulled off a superb 3-1 victory against Everton on the final day, but the damage was already done at this point.
With some love and attention from Guardiola, Ake has every chance of transforming into a figure as influential as Kompany, and be part of the next generation of success with City.