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“Nathan is the absolute example of a player who has developed at the highest level. He has done very well and has become a really important player for both the Netherlands and Manchester City. I am proud of Nathan. He is very important and is a great defender now.”

Ake has made 32 appearances in all competitions for City this season, with many of those appearances coming at left-back. Guardiola has fallen short in that position after the transfer of Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal and the loan of Joao Cancelo to Bayern Munich.

Ake, who started his career at Chelsea, joined City in the summer of 2020 following Bournemouth’s relegation to the Championship. The 28-year-old struggled for minutes during his first two seasons at the Etihad, playing just 24 times in the Premier League.

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However, Ake has become a senior player for Guardiola thanks to his versatility and ability on the ball. The defender, who is a centre-back by trade, has 35 Dutch senior caps under his belt and previously represented the likes of Reading and Watford.

Guardiola recently told Sky Sports: “He (Ake) is an exceptional defender. He’s amazing from set pieces, his attention to what we need in the process, he’s really good in short space. That’s why he’s playing. It’s as simple as that”.

City are aiming to become the first English club since Manchester United to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the same season. They are eight points behind league leaders Arsenal, with one game less, and face Bayern Munich and Sheffield United in the next rounds of the Champions League and FA Cup respectively.