Rayan Aït-Nouri has yet to play a single Premier League minute for Manchester City this season, and his future at the Etihad Stadium is now firmly in doubt.
Enzo Maresca has handed league minutes to 23 players so far, but the Algeria international is conspicuous by his absence, according to the Manchester Evening News. A January exit looks a real possibility.
The 25-year-old made 31 appearances in all competitions last season under Pep Guardiola, but he has dropped down the pecking order since Maresca arrived in the summer.
Rayan Aït-Nouri minutes: how little has he played?
Aït-Nouri has made three appearances this season. His only start came in the Carabao Cup tie against Championship side Norwich City, with late Champions League cameos against Porto and AEK Athens his only other minutes.
Allan, Ryan McAidoo and even Jack Grealish, who left City on loan for Everton in the summer, have all featured more in the Premier League for City than the absent Aït-Nouri.
Why has Maresca frozen out Rayan Aït-Nouri?
The Italian views the former Wolves man as more of a winger than a full-back. Nico O’Reilly and Josko Gvardiol are the leading options at left-back, which leaves Aït-Nouri stuck behind a plethora of talent out wide too.
Jeremy Doku, Iliman Ndiaye, Antoine Semenyo, Phil Foden and Rayan Cherki are all capable of playing on the wing, and the numbers simply do not add up for the 25-year-old.
It was not a clean slate even before Maresca. Guardiola valued Aït-Nouri but, after the full-back suffered an early-season injury last term, his path to regular starts was blocked by the form of O’Reilly, who ended the season as Premier League Young Player of the Year and an England left-back.
Speaking last season, Guardiola was full of praise: “He knows the Premier League, can play outside and inside, can play in different positions. He came not just for a certain period, for a long time.”
Rayan Aït-Nouri transfer: could Manchester United come back in?
A shock loan move to Manchester United was mooted late on deadline day, but City wanted to include an option to buy in any prospective deal and the transfer fell through.
It remains to be seen whether Michael Carrick’s side will look to rekindle their interest, with a back-up left-back to Luke Shaw still an issue at Old Trafford. Aït-Nouri would likely have suitors elsewhere domestically and in Europe too.
He is under contract at the Etihad until 2030 and cost £36million when arriving from Wolves a little over a year ago. City valued his Premier League experience at the time, and the player himself was keen to work under Guardiola.
Author opinion: is it time for City to cash in?
Three appearances in more than two months tell their own story. With O’Reilly and Gvardiol ahead of him, and the wingers fighting over every minute, Aït-Nouri’s path back is blocked.
A contract to 2030 and a £36million fee mean City will not let him go cheaply, but a clean loan with an option to buy, or a sale in January, would suit everyone. Our look at City’s next five league fixtures shows a busy run, and Maresca’s rotation will not be widening to include him unless injuries bite.
