Rayan Ait-Nouri was not part of Manchester City's travelling squad at Nottingham Forest and seems destined to leave the club either in January or the summer

Rayan Ait-Nouri must have been watching and wondering when Josko Gvardiol's sloppy error inside the opening few minutes at the City Ground cost Manchester City a goal.

The Croatia defender took far too long on the ball and was pickpocketed by Cunha who drove forward and slotted home the opener for Nottingham Forest in Saturday's Premier League clash with the Blues.

It was the latest individual mistake in a catalogue of errors from City players over the past few weeks. Gvardiol has endured a rocky start to the season while Nico O'Reilly, such a force of nature last term, has yet to get going amid a troublesome back injury.

Despite the issues for both players, arguably City's most natural left back Ait-Nouri has barely got a look in. He's not featured at all in the Premier League and wasn't even in Enzo Maresca's squad for the trip to Nottingham.

The Algeria international's future at the Etihad looks bleak, and a move away in January feels likely with an exit before the start of next season inevitable.

He has made four appearances, but his only start came in the Carabao Cup tie against Championship side Norwich City, with late Champions League cameos against Porto and AEK Athens, along with a half in the League Cup against Brighton his only other minutes.

The 25-year-old made 31 appearances in all competitions for the Blues last season under Pep Guardiola but has fallen down the pecking order since Maresca arrived in the summer.

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 would be no surprise to see United revisit a deal in January, with Luke Shaw having suffered injury issues this term and Michael Carrick's side lacking a natural alternative.

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Ait-Nouri could quite easily fit the bill at Old Trafford and give the Reds a much-needed option. Such a move could be tempting to the player as well, given the geography and the fact that United could feasibly offer him Champions League football if they progress to the knockout stages.

Whether City would be open to handing their fierce rivals a transfer solution remains to be seen, while Ait-Nouri would likely have suitors elsewhere domestically and in Europe.

He is under contract at the Etihad until 2030 and cost £36million when arriving for Wolves a little over a year ago. He had impressed at Molineux and City valued his Premier League experience when they completed the transfer, while the player himself was keen to work under Pep Guardiola.

The Catalan valued Ait-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.

Ait-Nouri's wait for a top-flight start will stretch beyond six months by the time City return to action after the November international break. He might have already made his last Premier League outing for the club.