Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is said to be 'bothered' by his situation at the Etihad Stadium.
The Netherlands international has started just one Premier League game so far this season, with manager Pep Guardiola choosing to often partner Ruben Dias with Josko Gvardiol at the heart of his defence.
Nathan Ake 'bothered' by role under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City this season
It's been a tough campaign overall for Ake, who played only 20 times for the Cityzens across the entire 2024/25 campaign.
The former Chelsea man has been hampered by multiple injury setbacks over the last 12 months, but international boss Ronald Koeman insists his vice-captain is still giving his all to try and regain his place.
"Nathan [Ake] himself is also bothered by the fact that he doesn't play much," Koeman said at a press conference in Zeist.
"But he is one of the captains of my team. Moreover, he's a left-footed defender, while we generally have a lot of right-footed central defenders.
"He's an important player for me who has always been there when I needed him.
"That makes all the difference for me having him in the squad. Is he also guaranteed a place in the World Cup next year? That's still a long way off."
Competing with the likes of Matthijs de Ligt, Virgil van Dijk, and Jan Paul van Hecke is tough for Ake at City, with the three others seeing regular minutes in the Premier League so far this term.
Some reports have suggested Ake would be open to a switch in January, with plenty of other players still trying to secure a vital place in their nation's final squads ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
FourFourTwo understands that Guardiola would be unwilling to sanction the move unless he feels as if he has sufficient cover at the back, with Abdukodir Khusanov having missed a lot of the season with injury, Vitor Reis on loan and Rayan Ait-Nouri having suffered a stop-start campaign thus far.
Ake is worth 30m, according to Transfermarkt. City travel to Newcastle United when Premier League action resumes after the international break.
