Rayan Ait-Nouri has emerged as a key player in recent weeks as Manchester City chase silverware in four competitions
06:00, 07 Mar 2026
It would have been very Typical City if Manchester City had finally signed a left-back after years of grumbling from fans and then didn’t play him. It also would have been very Pep Guardiola to bring in a specialist and then stick another midfielder in the position instead.
And it was. When Rayan Ait-Nouri left for the Africa Cup of Nations in December, it didn’t look obvious when he would next play in the Premier League. Nico O’Reilly had basically had the position locked down since September, and any chance Ait-Nouri had to show himself wasn’t taken.
Having looked fine on debut at his former club Wolves on the opening day of the season, Ait-Nouri quickly went downhill. He came off injured 20 minutes into the dismal defeat against Spurs, came back for the dismal defeat against Brighton but was then injured for six weeks.
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When he came back in October, his only starts before leaving for international duty two months later were the Carabao Cup game at Swansea and the Champions League game with Leverkusen. He was substituted after an hour in South Wales with City drawing against the Championship side, and then taken off at half-time with Leverkusen ahead.
For all the fuss around African players not being released long before the international tournament started, Ait-Nouri barely got a kick while O’Reilly went from strength to strength. If the Collyhurst youngster kept the Algerian out of the team initially, it was a need to bring him into midfield that gave Ait-Nouri his chance.
“There was a period where he didn’t play much and Nico O’Reilly played there. After that, we didn’t have the consistency with second balls and Nico and Antoine helped us to be more of a ‘mm-mm’ team,” said Guardiola as he emphasised the physicality and drive needed in midfield. “In that moment, in that position with Josko [Gvardiol] injured, we brought Rayan from Wolves to play and he’s playing really good.”
It has been quite the run – nine straight starts is the longest current streak of consecutive games in the squad and if the niggles that he forced him to be substituted against Forest do not rule him out of the Newcastle tie in the FA Cup he may well be being kept fresh for the Champions League match in Madrid. Ait-Nouri has never been the star but his performances at Liverpool and Leeds have been essential for City.
The 24-year-old has never been a player to seek the limelight, happy to keep his head down and have a quiet life. He was exactly the same in his four year at Wolves, shy about speaking up in a language he took his time to get confident with.
He has rarely been seen too far from Rayan Cherki since the pair signed for City before the Club World Cup and people at the training ground speak of how nice and normal Ait-Nouri is. At a recent away game, he gave his matchworn shirt to a young fan as he was walking out of the stadium.
It was at Newcastle where Ait-Nouri’s City career saw lift-off – despite a cancelled flight. The Algerian was later back to Manchester than he wanted to be after the Africa Cup of Nations because of a problem with a connection on the journey home, but he made sure he was in the squad for their trip up to St James’ for their Carabao Cup semi-final.
City were still in defensive disarray at this point with ]Gvardiol, John Stones, Ruben Dias and Nico Gonzalez all sidelined as well as Savinho, Mateo Kovacic and Oscar Bobb. Not only did Ait-Nouri put his hand up for the game but he also came off the bench for the closing minutes of the match and teed up Cherki for the crucial second goal.
These kind of displays – of application on the pitch but also the will to be there in the first place – go a long way when Guardiola judges his players, and it is little surprise that Ait-Nouri has been rewarded since. As much as the wider team changes brought him into the team, he wouldn’t have made it without his own efforts.
That has allowed him to grow into the new side, improving with every week. While it may have taken a few months and an absence on another continent, Ait-Nouri has hit his stride under Guardiola.
“He made steps forward a lot in the last games, understanding what we needed and his quality with the ball is fantastic,” the manager said. “He gives us extra passes and defensively he is more aggressive and faster than people could think about it. In the question of working the line, he’s getting better.”
That is all Guardiola wants from his improving team, while many City fans are just happy to see a left-back.
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