Last summer, Liverpool and Manchester City often had the same profiles in mind. To strengthen themselves in the attacking midfielder position, Liverpool finally opted for Florian Wirtz after considering Rayan Cherki. With the left defender, the leaders of the Mersey club chose Milos Kerkez rather than Rayan Aït-Nouri. Author of several quite remarkable seasons with Wolverhampton, the Algerian arrived at the Skyblues with the profile of a modern full-back who had ample opportunity to establish himself under Pep Guardiola. A signing which also allowed the former Angers player to discover the pressure of a big club for the first time.
And for his first steps at City, the new number 21 of the Skyblues appeared in great difficulty in his few appearances. Known for his offensive qualities, the native of Montreuil had the greatest difficulty in making his strengths shine at first. Following a series of injuries, Aït-Nouri was downgraded and Nico O’Reilly quickly took his place. Impressive on the left flank, the 20-year-old forced Aït-Nouri to spend weeks before the CAN on the bench. Finally, it was after his return from Morocco that the left defender of the Fennecs regained his place with the Cityzens.
Rayan Aït-Nouri has started 10 times in the last 11 matches
Recruited for 37 million euros, the 24-year-old stood out from the start with an assist in three minutes of play against Newcastle in the Cup. The former SCO player started a week later against Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League. Since then, he has only left the eleven once in the following 10 matches. A return to power which is good for the Cityzens: since his return, City has deployed a much more attractive offensive game and has only lost one match out of Aït-Nouri’s 10 starts. A takeover which also forced the excellent O’Reilly to return to play in the midfield.
A comeback which also earns him the respect of the supporters, rave about his level in 2026. For his part, Pep Guardiola is also full of praise for his player, determining in his new system as he admitted at a press conference: “he has improved a lot in the last few matches. He understands what we want and what we expect from him. His quality on the ball is beyond doubt. He brings us additional passes. Defensively, he’s faster than people think and he’s getting better and better at holding down the defensive line.» You will have understood, Rayan Aït-Nouri is coming back to the forefront and Manchester City is clearly not complaining.
