Man City might have a surprise guaranteed starter for West Ham fixture

It was very possible that Nathan Ake wouldn't even have been a Manchester City player this season, had Chelsea met his asking price.

If that £50m figure had been met, and City had found a replacement, then Ake could have been starting the campaign at Stamford Bridge alongside Raheem Sterling, rather than facing another season scrapping for minutes as City's fourth-choice central defender.

However, it's a sign of how quickly things can change in football that Ake now finds himself in a position where he could be City's first defender on the teamsheet when they travel to West Ham next week for the Premier League opener, through a mixture of good form, bad form and bad luck in the Blues' back line.

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With Aymeric Laporte injured until September at least, and John Stones unavailable for the pre-season tour after not meeting US entry requirements, Ake found himself with an opportunity in pre-season with two chances to impress Pep Guardiola alongside Ruben Dias.

In the first game, Dias was absent with illness, and Ake did reasonably against Club America, acting as the senior centre-back next to Luke Mbete. He was culpable for Club America's route-one equaliser, which was far too easy, but responded with a good performance for the rest of that game.

Then, with Dias back against Bayern Munich, Ake benefitted from having a more experienced head alongside him, and impressed fans with his all-action display in Green Bay, keeping Serge Gnabry and Thomas Muller quiet.

And against Liverpool in the Community Shield, Ake was rewarded with a start as Stones remained on the bench, and he came away from the King Power Stadium as the centre-back