Micah Richards has said that after Erling Haaland, Nathan Ake has been the Player of the Season for Manchester City, even ahead of Kevin De Bruyne.
The renowned pundit made the claim on Optus Sport about the £40 million (GOAL) man, who has been in the form of his life this campaign.
While names such as Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Jack Grealish and John Stones have been named as worthy Player of the Season candidates for Manchester City after Erling Haaland, Micah Richards has sided with Nathan Ake.
Micah Richards calls Nathan Ake the Manchester City Player of the Season ahead of Kevin De Bruyne
The Belgian playmaker is having an incredible season once again, with 10 goals and 28 assists to his name in all competitions.
Even Arsenal’s Jorginho recently branded the 31-year-old as the ‘best midfielder in the Premier League’ at the moment.
While Micah Richards would likely agree with that opinion about Kevin De Bruyne, he believes Nathan Ake has been superior to him for Manchester City this term.
“They managed to send [Joao] Cancelo on loan to Bayern Munich and then fill the void with Ake, who I think, after [Erling] Haaland has been the Player of the Season [for Manchester City].”
Micah Richards makes a fair point
Not to say that Kevin De Bruyne would not be a worthy runner-up to Erling Haaland as the Manchester City Player of the Season but Micah Richards is right in saying that Nathan Ake also has a strong claim.
The former Bournemouth defender took Joao Cancelo’s place in the side as a makeshift left-back after the World Cup and ever since, he has been simply unplayable.
From a pure defensive point of view, Ake’s inclusion has made City a lot more solid in 1v1 duels and as a whole, while he has improved hugely on the ball as well.
The improvement in defence has been a catalyst behind the Premier League champions’ revival during the second half of the season.
Regardless of whether or not Manchester City win the treble or not, for them to even be two games away from doing the impossible is owed to Nathan Ake as one of the main contributors behind their rise.
