One look at the Manchester City touring squad highlighted another reason why the Blues were right not to fold to Chelsea demands and sell Nathan Ake. With John Stones and Aymeric Laporte absent from the group, the Dutchman is one of only two senior centre-backs in the group, alongside Ruben Dias.
It would not have been a disaster — and will not be — if rising star Luke Mbete gets chances at the back in these two upcoming games; the teenager is rated highly by City's coaching staff and all experience in the first team is useful. But as Pep Guardiola prepares for a league campaign where there will again be little margin for error, he will like to be set up as much as possible as soon as possible.
Txiki Begiristain has given him a helping hand in this by securing the majority of their transfer targets early and making firm decisions on others. With the call not to let Ake go, the biggest priority remaining is to secure a left-back to replace the outgoing Oleksandr Zinchenko.
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And while the four players not in the United States with the rest of the group will have designs on a regular starting place, Guardiola has shown before in his meritocratic world that anyone who earns a place in the first team can keep it until they lose it. Ake has been around to watch this principle in practice.
Two seasons ago, Guardiola's frustration with Aymeric Laporte's errors led to John Stones taking his place after a dim defeat at Tottenham in November 2020. The England international continued his fine season at the European Championship, but while he needed time to recover after that tournament Laporte stepped up and produced consistent quality over eight months that meant he played more than any other centre-back — including Dias.
Ake knows that competition is fierce at centre-back and that he will have a serious job on to oust Stones, Laporte or Dias from the team. It is why he considered a clearer route to the starting line-up at Chelsea, but the tour has given him the opportunity to get a head-start on the rest.
While Laporte recovers from injury and Stones trains elsewhere, Ake can expect to partner Dias and show Guardiola what that combination looks like ahead of the Community Shield and the first Premier League game.
Since joining the Blues in 2020, the former Bournemouth star has always maintained his ambition to be a regular starter in the team. Having seen what is necessary to do that, this summer is a prime opportunity to set the standard that his fellow defenders will have to catch up on if they're to get their place back in the side.
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