Manchester City have several players at the club who they secured transfer deals for from other Premier League clubs.
For instance, recent transfer windows have seen City bring in the likes of Matheus Nunes, Mateo Kovacic and Jack Grealish from various top-flight sides.
Another player who falls under this category is Nathan Ake, who joined City from Bournemouth in the 2020 summer transfer window in a deal worth £41m.
In the midst of his fifth season at the Etihad Stadium, the 29-year-old has opened up about some of the struggles he’s been dealing with over the past few weeks and months.
- Who is Nathan Ake? Step inside the life of Man City’s unsung hero
Nathan Ake makes honest admission on ‘frustrating’ Man City season
Having missed various matches this season due to injury issues, Ake said this on the matter in a recent edition of the official Man City podcast.
He said: “For me, you just want to be able to play and do your thing so when you get injured it’s the worst, honestly.
“What you can do is make the most of it, take the positives, do things with the family that you normally couldn’t do.
“I think that helps you cope with it a little bit better. But it’s the most frustrating thing ever.
“[Coming back, the team] get you through it but you’re not at the best level fitness-wise. The feeling is not the same as when you play every week, you have to get used to it again.
“Especially afterwards, dealing with the body, you get more doms [delayed on-set muscle soreness] when you haven’t played for a while so it affects you a bit.
“You’re trying to recover as fast as possible so it’s a bit of a hit. But it’s also the best feeling ever to be back and to be playing again.”
Ake has had a difficult season
Having only played three minutes of action in the early weeks of the season, Ake picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty with the Netherlands back in September.
This led to him missing seven games in total for Pep Guardiola’s side across all competitions.
| Nathan Ake 2024/25 | Appearances | Starts | Minutes Played |
| Premier League | 2 | 1 | 75 |
| Champions League | 1 | 1 | 74 |
| Carabao Cup | 1 | 1 | 74 |
| Community Shield | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Another big injury blow City were dealt in September came when Rodri suffered a season-ending knee issue during the club’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
Since Ake returned from his hamstring injury, the two matches he’s started happened to be the first two defeats in City’s recent quartet of losses.
While the Dutchman is unsurprisingly happy to be back fit again, it won’t have filled him with too much confidence that he’s see his side go on their current losing streak – which Bernardo Silva dubbed a “dark place” for City.
Moving forward, if the defender can keep his fitness up for the remainder of the season and help his side get back on track, he certainly could end up having another positive season with the Blues.
