Leicester City finished in the eighth position in the English Premier League table after a good end to their campaign. The Foxes struggled at the start of the season due to their unsettled defence. Wesley Fofana was injured and spent a lot of time on the treatment table. Jannik Vestergaard was signed from Southampton, but he also failed to make an impact on the team. Brendan Rodgers is now looking to add more names to the squad, especially those players who can take his team to new heights. One of the players that has emerged as their next target is Manchester City’s defender, Nathan Ake. The Dutchman has struggled for game-time since joining the Manchester club in 2020. Now, he is set to leave the club and has gained the interest of a few Premier League clubs, including Leicester City.
The 27-year-old defender made 14 league appearances for the defending champions, and four of those came off the bench. Nathan Ake is a threat in the air whenever he goes in front during set-piece situations. He netted two goals this season, and both goals were scored against Leeds United in two meetings. He is a left-footed player and is preferred in the left centre-back position. With Fofana in the team, who is a natural right-footed player, Ake helps the manager to form a left-right combination in the defence.
The above viz shows all the aerial duels, defensive duels, and loose ball duels contested by the player. He averaged 4.96 defensive duels, 4.78 aerial duels and 2.26 loose ball duels per 90 minutes, respectively. He had a low defensive duels win percentage for defensive duels, as he won only 21.8% of his duels. However, the player was strong in the air and won 67.9% of his aerial duels, along with 52% of his loose ball duels. The above viz shows that he has contested a few aerial duels inside the opposition’s penalty box.
Ake made 37 interceptions that helped Manchester City break the opposition’s play. He only made one interception inside the opposition’s half and made the rest of the interceptions in the defensive third. The player also made more than eight recoveries per 90 minutes and around two were made inside the opposition’s half.
The defender also possesses passing skills and can create plays from the back. He can even play the left-back role. Brendan Rodgers will look to sign Nathan ake before other clubs make an offer for him. He would be an ideal fit for the Foxes and would help them compete for European places.
