Manchester City are closing in on Borussia Dortmund centre-back Manuel Akanji ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline as they look to bolster their options at the heart of defence, with the defender poised to make the switch to the Etihad for around £15m.
City can call upon four centre-backs in normal times, but injury to Ruben Dias has seen him sidelined for the start of the season, leaving John Stones, Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte as Guardiola’s only options.
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Though Dias is expected back in the coming weeks, the City boss has clearly decided to act sooner rather than later, and the Sky Blues are on the verge of adding a fifth defender to their ranks. Akanji has been linked with a move away for much of the summer, and is out of contract next summer, meaning that he would likely be leaving Dortmund for free in 12 months time.
Instead, Manchester City have pounced, striking a deal that as per the Athletic will be around the 17.5m euro mark (£15m) for the Swiss international. The arrivals of Nico Schlotterbech and Niklas Sule has rendered Akanji redundant in Germany, but question marks remain around where he will fit in among the stable of centre-backs in Manchester.
Akanji will become their fifth signing of the summer, and their second from Dortmund, with Erling Haaland having already hit the ground running this summer. Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez and Julian Alvarez have also all been recruited as the Champions look to defend their title, making it 5 wins in 6 seasons in the process.
While a deal for Akanji is not yet complete, things are heading in the right direction for it to be done by Thursday’s 11pm deadline.
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