Back in 2019, Nathan Ake lavished praise on to Frenkie de Jong, who has been rumoured to be a Manchester City target this summer.
Speaking to GOAL, the treble-winner gave his two cents on the 26-year-old, who Pep Guardiola is personally keen to sign at City, as per a report on Sunday.
If Frenkie de Jong does end up joining Manchester City, he will play alongside an admirer of his in Nathan Ake.
Nathan Ake once raved about Manchester City-linked midfielder Frenkie de Jong
One of the Sky Blues’ biggest priorities in the transfer market has to be bolstering their midfield.
While Mateo Kovacic has come through the door, the club are in still in need of an advanced No.8 to replace Ilkay Gundogan, as the former is much more suited to succeeding the exit-linked Bernardo Silva.
In case Frenkie de Jong is brought in by Manchester City to fill the German international’s boots, Nathan Ake would likely be a huge fan of the move, as one can judge by his comments about the Dutchman four years ago.
“Every game [De Jong] plays he is so good on the ball, he wants the ball everywhere and he is technically so good that it is difficult to get the ball off him. He is a fantastic player.”
As brilliant as Frenkie de Jong is, do the Sky Blues need him?
That is the million-dollar question, as there is no disagreeing with Manchester City defender Nathan Ake on how splendid a midfielder his fellow countryman has always been.
However, first things first, the Barcelona technician profiles almost identically to Mateo Kovacic as a left-sided No.8, who thrives in the first and second phases of the pitch.
In order to effectively replace Ilkay Gundogan in Manchester City’s current setup, an advanced midfielder that does his best work in the final third will be key.
Frenkie de Jong is simply not that type of midfielder, which makes the reported interest in him slightly puzzling.
