Man City star drops January transfer hint after World Cup squad warning over game time

Ake has struggled to force his way into Guardiola's plans this season and has just two Premier League starts to his name. He has also made a single start in the Champions League, and has now hinted that his future may need to lie elsewhere if he is to play in the World Cup at the end of the season. Ake has 57 Netherlands caps to his name, and played every game at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as the Dutch reached the quarter-finals, only to lose on penalties to eventual winners Argentina. 

Now, Ake has accepted that he may well have to seek pastures new if he wants to make an impact in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in the summer.

He said, per the Manchester Evening News: "He (Koeman) has said to me a few times actually that he wants me to play more and sometimes it is difficult to call me up if I don't play a lot, that's obvious. 

"Every player wants to play as much as possible while also appreciating that the team is doing really well and the players in my position are doing really well so I have to keep going and wait for chances.

"The only thing I can say is I keep fighting every time. You want to play every game, I'm not going to say I should play every game because Ruben (Dias), Josko (Gvardiol), Nico (O'Reilly) and the whole defence have been doing fantastic but every player wants to get minutes so the only thing I can do is fight and try to get opportunities like today and we will see in the future what happens."

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Ake may well have to weigh the prospect of outlasting Guardiola at the Etihad, given there has been plenty of talk that the Catalan could depart at the end of the campaign. Of course, the club are reported to have held talks with Enzo Maresca, a key factor in his Chelsea exit. 

Guardiola has said: "The only [thing] I can say is that Chelsea, I think, from my point of view, lose an incredible, incredible manager, incredible person.

"But this [is a] decision from the hierarchy from Chelsea, so [I have] nothing to say.

"In football? Surprise? No. It only confirms how lucky I am in the club where I am. My club is extraordinary."

He added:  "I have a contract. I said a thousand million times. It's 10 years here, I will leave one day but I have a contract. I'm happy. I want to fight with my team.

"The hierarchy respect me, that was proved last season with what happened in this club -- we didn't win one game in two, three months. They supported me.

"I have one more year's contract. I like to be here, so we will see, you will see."

Manchester City face Chelsea on Sunday in a huge fixture at the top-end of the Premier League table. Whether Ake plays in the game remains to be seen, but he will surely hope he can take to the field to prove his worth to potential January suitors. 

At the 2026 World Cup, the Netherlands will play Japan and Tunisia, as well as a play-off winner.