Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis poised to sign new long-term contracts at Manchester City

Dutch defender to be rewarded for a fine season, while highly-rated teenager will commit future to boyhood club

Nathan Ake has become a regular starter for Manchester City this season. PA

Nathan Ake is set to sign a new long-term contract with Manchester City amid the Dutch defender's best and most productive season at the club.

Ake, 28, spent his first two years at City very much as a squad player, making 10 and 14 Premier League starts in the previous two seasons, but has emerged as a key player this campaign with 36 appearances in all competitions.

The Netherlands international, who is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury, has been a consistent and reliable performer in the City defence, earning the praise and trust of fans and his manager Pep Guardiola.

And his growing importance to the squad it will lead to the offer of a fresh deal, keeping him at City during his peak years and into his thirties.

While Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jack Grealish have taken the limelight as Premier League-leaders City chase the treble, Ake's contribution to the team has not gone unnoticed, particularly inside the club.

“All Nathan’s actions with the ball are clever,” Guardiola said. “When he hasn’t played there was never any complaints, just a desire to get better and a desire to learn what the team needs. He is a generous player with great commitment to the club.”

Ake has admitted that he has taken time to attune to his manager’s playbook but knows he is there now, on the same page and enjoying every minute of the synchronicity.

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“Pep is very specific, tactically he knows exactly what he wants. Some people take it in quickly, some it takes a little bit longer, for me maybe it took a little bit longer, but once you get it you get it. This season everything has just clicked and I have just grown. The manager has helped me a lot with it,” he said.

“Game by game you start to understand more about what he wants and the team needs. I’m probably most comfortable in the centre but I’ve been playing more as a left back which I really enjoy.

“The way we play is a combination of both anyway and you have to be versatile. I know what the manager expects of me and I love it.”

Ake will not the only City defender getting a new deal, with highly rated teenager Rico Lewis also set for an improved contract tying him to the champions for years to come.

The 18-year-old full-back, who has represented England at all levels from Under-16 to Under-21, has been at City since he was eight years old. He made his Premier League debut last August and his Champions League bow two months later. He subsequently became City’s youngest ever UCL scorer with a goal against Sevilla.

While senior starts have become less frequent as the season wore on, Lewis remains an integral part of the squad and will reap his reward at the end of the campaign with a bumper pay rise.

“He has the ability to make the team play better,” Guardiola said. “That’s not an easy thing to find. Defensively, he understands the game, he’s so clever.”

That was a view echoed by seasoned England international Kyle Walker who has, on occasion, been competing for a place with the youngster 14 years his junior.

“I think Rico is unbelievable,” said Walker. “The way his brain works for a young player is fantastic.”