Akanji

City agreed a deal worth just over £15m with Dortmund on Wednesday to sign defender Akanji ahead of the transfer deadline. Swiss international Akanji had ...

You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News. They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career. Swiss international Akanji had entered the final year of his contract and was yet to make an appearance for Dortmund this season.

Manchester City has secured defensive cover by signing center back Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund for 17.5 million euros ($17.5 million)

“He has everything we want in a center back,” Begiristain said. The 27-year-old Akanji, who has played 41 times for Switzerland, joined on a five-year deal as City’s fifth signing of the transfer window, after former Dortmund teammate Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega Moreno and Sergio Gomez. “He is strong, quick, comfortable in possession, has an excellent passing range and he will complement the other defenders in this team and our style of play.”

Akanji becomes City's fifth senior centre-back amid injuries to Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Aké.

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Manchester City have signed centre-back Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund, it was announced on deadline day.

- They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career." [Switzerland](/soccer/team?id=475) international will give City boss Pep Guardiola another option in defence, joining centre-backs [Ruben Dias](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/234878/Rúben-Dias), [John Stones](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/157974/John-Stones), [Nathan Ake](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/159248/Nathan-Aké) and [Aymeric Laporte](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/159317/Aymeric-Laporte). [Erling Haaland](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/253989/Erling-Haaland), [Kalvin Phillips](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/223453/Kalvin-Phillips), [Sergio Gomez](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/265993/Sergio-Gómez) and [Stefan Ortega](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/151855/Stefan-Ortega) during this window.

The club now have five senior centre-backs of high international level. Manuel Akanji, Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City.

With [Aymeric Laporte ](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/aymeric-laporte/profil/spieler/176553)still out until early October, Pep Guardiola wanted to strengthen the back line. [Manuel Akanji](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/manuel-akanji/profil/spieler/284730) is a Manchester City player. [Fernandinho's ](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/fernandinho/profil/spieler/26267)number before he left the club. [Ruben Dias](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/schnellsuche/ergebnis/schnellsuche?query=ruben+d). [Nathan Ake's ](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/nathan-ake/profil/spieler/177476)injury. [Pep Guardiola](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/pep-guardiola/profil/trainer/5672) felt the signing was necessary after the injury struggles at the beginning of the season.

Swiss international Manuel Akanji will provide the Premier League champions with extra defensive depth after recent injuries to centre-backs Aymeric Laporte ...

"He has everything we want in a centre-back. They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career." He is strong, quick, comfortable in possession, has an excellent passing range and he will complement the other defenders in this team and our style of play."

Manchester City have completed the signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund, with the Swiss moving to England in a £15 million ($17m) deal.

With the rest of the squad starting so well, the centre of defence is a position where they can afford to be overly cautious and in Akanji they have have an experienced option, for a good price who can quickly settle into the team." WHAT THEY SAID: Akanji has said: "I am delighted to be here and can’t wait to get started. The 27-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the reigning Premier League champions through to the summer of 2027.

A player who adds plenty of experience to Pep Guardiola's side, he comes in at the mid-price bracket for defenders in Fantasy Premier League. Video ...

He sets you back £5.4m at present, with [Ruben Dias](https://www.mancity.com/players/ruben-dias) (£6.0m) the most expensive of our centre-halves. [Stones](https://www.mancity.com/players/john-stones) is next in the defending champions’ defensive pricelist. [Kyle Walker](https://www.mancity.com/players/kyle-walker) is also similarly priced to Akanji at £5.1m, as is new midfielder [Kalvin Phillips](https://www.mancity.com/players/kalvin-phillips), who is currently available for £4.9m. [Erling Haaland](https://www.mancity.com/players/erling-haaland), [Kalvin Phillips](https://www.mancity.com/players/kalvin-phillips), Julian Alvarez and [Stefan Ortega Moreno](https://www.mancity.com/players/stefan-ortega-moreno). [Ake](https://www.mancity.com/players/nathan-ake), who has been assigned the same value. [Pep Guardiola](https://www.mancity.com/players/pep-guardiola)’s side, he comes in at the mid-price bracket for defenders in Fantasy Premier League.

The Premier League champions managed to get a budget deal done for the Switzerland international, who was in the final year of his deal in Germany.

Akanji becomes the Citizens’ fifth signing of the summer following the arrivals of Erling Haaland, Stefan Ortega, Kalvin Phillips and Sergio Gomez. They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career. He will wear the No. Akanji won the German Cup in 2020/21 for Dortmund, and played in every minute of Switzerland’s run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2020 last summer. “I am really looking forward to testing myself in the Premier League and I will do everything I can to help this Club be successful.” The 27-year-old reportedly cost an initial £15 million after City pounced on the opportunity to sign the centre-back once he entered the final year of his deal in Germany.

The defender Manuel Akanji has signed a five-year contract with Manchester City after joining from Borussia Dortmund.

“You can see in his face the way he wants to score, how aggressive he is inside the box and that is great to have. His hunger for goals, he always wants more and to have a striker like him in our team is just great. In the games he’s even better [than in training] in terms of when he gets pressure, he deals with it very well. The fee for Edozie could rise to £10m and Larios has cost £6m. Pep Guardiola is an exceptional manager and this is an exceptional squad of players so this is an exciting opportunity for me.” The 27-year-old follows Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega, Sergio Gómez and Erling Haaland, who was also signed from Dortmund, in joining City during this window.

Man City new boy Manuel Akanji proved he's a mathematical genius non live TV. He left the presenter and crowed stunned with his incredible talent.

So I know a few calculations by heart.” “I did mathematical calculations also with licence plates. He also happens to be a mathematical genius. They are brilliant to watch, play an exciting brand of football and compete for trophies year in, year out, so coming here feels like the perfect next step in my career. Akanji and the presenter were asked by a member of the audience: “What is 24 x 75?” Akanji had to work it out in his head while the presenter had a calculator. “I am really looking forward to testing myself in the Premier League and I will do everything I can to help this Club be successful.”

Manchester City have completed the signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund, with the Swiss moving to England in a £15 million ($17m) deal.

With the rest of the squad starting so well, the centre of defence is a position where they can afford to be overly cautious and in Akanji they have have an experienced option, for a good price who can quickly settle into the team." WHAT THEY SAID: Akanji has said: "I am delighted to be here and can’t wait to get started. The 27-year-old has signed a five-year contract with the reigning Premier League champions through to the summer of 2027.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke about the arrival of Manuel Akanji and Aymeric Laporte's absence.

That's one of the reasons why we decided to go for Akanji. Guardiola had serious issues at the end of last season with Kyle Walker, John Stones and Ruben Dias all missing crucial weeks of the run-in after being rushed back from injury. "He'll be ready after the international break. We are very pleased they are here and good competition for the central defenders. [City](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/manchester-city-fc) were not planning to add another centre-half to their ranks this summer as they prioritised other areas of the team. With that contributing to a lack of depth at centre-back, spending £15.1m on Akanji made sense.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola explained the reasoning behind signing Manuel Akanji, while ruling out Aymeric Laporte for up to two months.

He said: “We had the opportunity to bring a player with one year left on his contract, huge experience. “But sometimes… [West Ham](https://theathletic.com/football/team/west-ham-united/) away and [Aston Villa](https://theathletic.com/football/team/aston-villa/), when we had no alternatives and he played with this injury. “We had four incredible centre defenders,” Guardiola said on Friday. “Laporte had a bone problem, but I’m not a doctor.” “He had a knee injury, a tough one.

Several late Premier League transfers were completed on deadline day with Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City all adding to their squads.

Don’t let forwards tempt him into trying to follow them and make a challenge in the channels, because he’s not recovering that ground afterwards. It has been a tough summer for Leicester fans and Wout Faes is the only first-team present they were offered. He is a central player primarily, though BVB also used him on the sides of a three and even at full-back in a four at times...not usually with a positive outcome from the latter, it should be noted. A switch to Fulham, then, will hopefully revitalise this once-exciting youngster; now 29 it remains to be seen how much of his old explosivity and adventurism he can rediscover. He has been a firm backup player over the past few campaigns and only made the bench twice in Ligue 1 last season. Akanji has also, however, been afflicted by concentration issues and error-strewn games - something which has been a Dortmund-wide problem for some time, so perhaps it was more environment or asked-for role than actual skill-set. [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) His passing is good enough to replicate some of Jorginho’s deeper work on the ball too, while being more mobile than the Italian. Another who has left Juventus, the Swiss midfielder signed for Chelsea on loan and will look to rediscover his pre-injury top form. [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. A Thiago alternative is the most likely use for him initially. He’s not a out-and-out attacker or clever dribbling conduit, but adds guile and final-third running when used in that spot.

Pep Guardiola has said Manchester City were forced into the transfer market to sign Manuel Akanji over fears about Aymeric Laporte's fitness.

"I think maybe after the international break [he could return]. "So we've just had two centre-backs. [John Stones](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/157974/John-Stones) and [Ruben Dias](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/234878/Rúben-Dias) in the last two games against [Crystal Palace](/soccer/team?id=384) and [Nottingham Forest](/soccer/team?id=393) and they are likely to be paired together again for the trip to [Aston Villa](/soccer/team?id=362) on Saturday. Guardiola is not expecting to have Laporte available until after the international break at the end of September but the 28-year-old could possibly return for the home game against [Manchester City](/soccer/team?id=382) were forced into the transfer market to sign [Manuel Akanji](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/214562/Manuel-Akanji) over fears about [Aymeric Laporte](https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/159317/Aymeric-Laporte)'s fitness. [ completed the €17.5 million signing](/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/4734247/man-city-sign-borussia-dortmunds-manuel-akanji) of Akanji from [Borussia Dortmund](/soccer/team?id=124) on deadline day.

SportsBrief.com News ☆ Pep Guardiola believes Manuel Akanji will be the "perfect" fit for Manchester City after signing the Switzerland defender from ...

I am not able to do it." "I said one month ago it would be end of September, October. "We had four incredible central defenders before Manu but sometimes Ayme had tough injuries. [Guardiola](https://sportsbrief.com/tag/pep-guardiola/) told reporters on Friday. [Etihad Stadium](https://sportsbrief.com/tag/etihad-stadium/) on a five-year contract. [© AFP 2022](https://sportsbrief.com/author/afp/)

Pep Guardiola says City had to enter the transfer market for Manuel Akanji to get through the intensive schedule before the winter World Cup.

The guy working there was working here and we wish them all the best.” After agreement of the club, and we have buy back in case they explode and we have the chance to get them back. [Download the Man City app](https://www.mancity.com/app) He is fast, really good in the build-up. Southampton bought really good players. [Aymeric](https://www.mancity.com/players/aymeric-laporte) [Laporte](https://www.mancity.com/players/aymeric-laporte) and Nathan [Ake](https://www.mancity.com/players/nathan-ake) unavailable through injury, [Ruben Dias](https://www.mancity.com/players/ruben-dias) and John [Stones](https://www.mancity.com/players/john-stones) were the only senior centre-backs fit to face Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola believes Manuel Akanji will be the "perfect" fit for Manchester City after signing the Switzerland defender from Borussia Dortmund on transfer ...

I am not able to do it." "I said one month ago it would be end of September, October. "We had four incredible central defenders before Manu but sometimes Ayme had tough injuries.

Manchester City's recent injury problems at the heart of their defence and a hectic schedule prompted them to seal a transfer deadline day deal for Swiss ...

Early October. (We are) pleased he's here." "He is perfect for what we need... We had an opportunity to bring a player with one year left on his contract, incredibly experienced. Nathan had some concerns," Guardiola told reporters before Saturday's Premier League clash with Aston Villa. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com