Man City hit gold with 9/10 Euros star who's now worth more than De Bruyne
Man City hit gold with 9/10 Euros star who's now worth more than De Bruyne
Manchester City have more players at Euro 2024 than any other club in Europe. Not all of their players have got off to winning starts, and some are yet to play a game. However, there were wins for the likes of Phil Foden with England and Rodri for Spain.
There was also a superb performance from Nathan Ake, as the Netherlands got off to a winning start.
Despite running out 2-1 winners, it took a late goal for the Netherlands to overcome Poland, who were without Robert Lewandowski. An early goal from Adam Buksa gave Poland the lead before a long-range effort from Liverpool attacker Cody Gakpo equalised for the Netherlands.
It took the Netherlands until the 83rd minute for them to find a winning goal. Former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst got on the end of a cross into the box, sniffing out the chance like any good striker would, to give his side the lead.
There was a late scare for Ronald Koeman’s side, however, with Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen called into action to parry a shot away from goal before the rebound was fired into the side netting. It was an important victory for the Netherlands, with Ake in particular putting in an impressive showing.
Akes match stats vs Poland
The Man City defender played a huge part in the victory for his side, registering one assist, for Gakpo’s goal, and putting the deflected cross in which fell to Weghorst for the winner. This led to him getting a very impressive 9/10 post-match rating from Goal.com journalist Tom Maston.
In his report, Matson explained how Ake, who acted as a third centre-back when his side had possession, “made a couple of excellent interventions” when defending. However, the centre-back also imposed himself going forward, with Matson going on to describe the fact Ake “caused problems when he did step forward”, as shown by his assist.
As per Sofascore, the City man won his only ground duel and his only aerial duel of the game, as well as winning his sole tackle, a vital last-man challenge. He also made four clearances for his side.
With the ball, Ake was as composed as ever, which you would expect from a player coached by Pep Guardiola.
He completed 63 out of 64 of his passes, which gave him a 94% accuracy. He played an impressive four key passes and also created one big chance. All that came on top of his assist for Gakpo. It was a superb day at the office.
Akes transfer value in 2024
Singing Ake has proven to be a masterstroke from the Citizens for more reason than one. Firstly, he has been a key player under Guardiola, having played a crucial part in four title-winning sides, as well as winning the treble whilst a City player. In total, he has played 125 times for the club.
However, his transfer value has risen since they spent £40m on the Dutchman to sign him from Bournemouth in August 2020.
According to CIES Football Observatory, he is now valued at £42m, showing a slight increase in his value. However, if City were to sell the 29-year-old, they could likely command a higher fee than that. In short, it has been a superb piece of business from City.
Indeed, Ake is more valuable than several of City’s current stars. Kevin De Bruyne is valued at just £17m now, over half the amount the Dutchman is valued at. This comes after a tough season in which injuries have affected him. The talismanic Belgian missed a total of 42 games for club and country last term.
The Dutch defender is also more valuable than English trio Jack Grealish, John Stones and Kyle Walker. Both Grealish and Stones are valued at just £34m, with Walker even less, at just £13m. Only the latter two are at Euro 2024, with Gareth Southgate opting to leave Grealish out of his squad.
It is fair to say that City have struck gold with Ake. They have a superb versatile player who has risen in value and gotten even better since he joined the club. At only 29 years of age, he could be an important player under Guardiola as they look to try and regain their treble in the 2024/25 campaign.
Related
What Man City's starting XI could look like after 128m spending spree
They could sign three new players this summer...