Manchester City have confirmed their fifth summer signing, with Manuel Akanji arriving from Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
Manchester City have made an official statement to confirm that they have secured the services of Manuel Akanji. The 27-year-old has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad, with the Premier League champions reportedly shelling out €17 million for the Swiss international.
That is according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who claims the Citizens reached a full agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign the 27-year-old Swiss centre-back from the Bundesliga club in the initial €17 million deal.
Akanji played in Germany for four-and-a-half years following his £19 million move from FC Basel. He has made 158 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit but has fallen down the pecking order following the summer arrivals of Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Sule.
The player himself informed the Dortmund hierarchy earlier this year that he would not be extending his current deal because he is looking for a new challenge. As a result, the Swiss international was frozen out of the team, as the BVB bosses were keen to offload him this summer with just one year left on his contract.
Manuel Akanji to Man City, here we go! Full agreement completed with BVB on Tuesday night, contracts are being prepared right now. €17m fixed fee. ?? #MCFC
Akanji has agreed personal terms and he will complete medical tests in the next hours.
NO centre backs will leave City. pic.twitter.com/WSpqOrzpUe
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2022
Arsenal, Juventus, Inter Milan, Newcastle United, and Manchester United have all been credited with an interest in Akanji at some point this summer. He has now completed a surprise move to Manchester City before the closure of the transfer window on Thursday and will also be linking up with Erling Haaland and Sergio Gomez, who were his teammates at Borussia Dortmund previously.
With the move going through, the 27-year-old has become Manchester City’s fifth signing of the summer transfer window. He would follow Kalvin Phillips, Haaland, Gomez, and Stefan Ortega through the door.
While Manchester City’s incoming transfer dealings have predominantly been relatively young players this summer, Akanji could be viewed as more of a depth signing for a cheap price. They already have four top-notch centre-backs at the club in John Stones, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, and Aymeric Laporte. But Ake and Laporte are currently injured and, in fact, the Spaniard is not expected to return until early October.
Akanji is a supreme ball-playing defender who is athletic and, at 27 years old, he is hitting his peak years. He already has decent top-level experience under his belt and could be a great addition to the squad. Despite his arrival, Romano has insisted that no existing centre-backs will be leaving Manchester City this season.
After securing Akanji’s signature, Manchester City City are expected to end their summer business, with Bernardo Silva expected to stay put at Etihad this summer.
