Manchester City’s headline signing of this summer is, of course, Erling Haaland. The sought-after striker has hit the ground running after arriving from the Bundesliga. A fellow teammate of his over in Germany has now followed him over to the Etihad. The signing of Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji has today been confirmed.
Borussia Dortmund Defender Makes the Move to England
We are delighted to announce we have completed the signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund! ✍️
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— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 1, 2022
Manchester City Get Their Man
After Champions League glory evaded them again last season, the focus around Manchester City was regarding their need for a recognised number nine. In typical Pep Guardiola fashion, they went out and got the best man for the job. Haaland has nine goals in the first five league games of the season whilst young Julian Alvarez is impressing also. At the other end of the field, Manchester City have got their man.
Aymeric Laporte isn’t expected back until early October plus Nathan Ake is also nursing an injury. Thus, the Citizens went out and picked up Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji for a very reasonable fee indeed. Not only is he one for the future, but he is one for the here and now as well.
His injury history during his time in Germany doesn’t make for great reading. A lot of them are small, minor knocks but they are very frequent. The worst of it all was a cruciate ligament rupture back in 2016 when he was an FC Basel player in his home country of Switzerland.
Read More: Manchester City Complete Erling Haaland Transfer in €250 Million Deal
OFFICIAL: Manchester City have announced the signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund. 🔵🇨🇭 pic.twitter.com/liZJl4R8IB
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) September 1, 2022
About the Borussia Dortmund Defender
In the 2021/22 season, the Borussia Dortmund defender made 26 appearances in the league, with all but one of these being starts. When fit, he has been heavily trusted by the wide array of managers that the club has gone through, from Lucien Favre to Edin Terzic, to Marco Rose and back to Terzic again.
Read More: Every Premier League Transfer Completed in Summer 2022
In the mix with Mats Hummels and Dan-Axel Zagadou at the back at Signal Iduna Park, he was a key player in Germany. Injuries were an issue for all three of these centre-halves along with many others to grace the Dortmund field. Haaland is another as are Emre Can, Axel Witsel and of course Marco Reus, to name just a few. Guardiola will be hoping his two signings from the second biggest team in the Bundesliga will have better luck on English shores.
