Manuel Akanji | City close to £15m agreement, 5 year contract

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domalino said:
I can only think maybe Laporte's injury is worse than expected, or Aké is about to drop a transfer request bombshell because the last month being 1st choice has made him realise he's too good to be 4th choice.

We have 4 incredibly good leftbacks and a big prospect in Mbete who Pep likes and has used.

We have loads of Lb cover between Cancelo, Gomez, Aké and JWE.

Akanji isn't likely to play RB.
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Could be that Laporte's injury is bad (obviously hope it isn't) or could be that the back up plan is to go with three centre halves, so we need another one in the squad?

It's a bit of a relief to get an extra body in. Hopefully he's up to it but I don't think we'll be asking too much of him, all things considered
 
domalino said:
I can only think maybe Laporte's injury is worse than expected, or Aké is about to drop a transfer request bombshell because the last month being 1st choice has made him realise he's too good to be 4th choice.

We have 4 incredibly good leftbacks and a big prospect in Mbete who Pep likes and has used.

We have loads of Lb cover between Cancelo, Gomez, Aké and JWE.

Akanji isn't likely to play RB.
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Nowhere for Ake to go though, is there. And I'm fairly certain our replacement wouldn't be Akanji.
 
domalino said:
I can only think maybe Laporte's injury is worse than expected, or Aké is about to drop a transfer request bombshell because the last month being 1st choice has made him realise he's too good to be 4th choice.

We have 4 incredibly good leftbacks and a big prospect in Mbete who Pep likes and has used.

We have loads of Lb cover between Cancelo, Gomez, Aké and JWE.

Akanji isn't likely to play RB.
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Does seem an interesting one, and would suggest between Laporte, Ake and perhaps even Mbete’s injuries there’s something the Club are seeing which they aren’t happy with.

He can play LB too, so gives us options there if we want to play Cancelo on the right (where in my opinion he has much more potential).

Can’t see him playing at RB though, like you say. But having him in the squad would reduce the reliance on playing Cancelo on the left as much as we do, which means he becomes more of an option at RB.

Akanji is primarily a CB though, so if we’re signing him that’s where he’ll be playing most of his football.
 
balotelli's back pocket said:
Completely out of the blue.

Has struggled the last couple of years, but there's a player there. Worth a pop at that price.
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Agreed, centre backs can develop late as well. Van Dijk was 25 when Liverpool signed him.

There is something there, he has the physical attributes, he's fast, he was really promising as a young player, might just need Pep's guidance.
 
Barcon said:
If there's any truth to this, I'll take two.

"Akanji likes to carry out his defensive duties at centre-back, but, comfortable playing with either foot, has also been successfully deployed on the right and left. Standing at 6'1" and weighing 85 kilograms, he also boasts impressive speed.

His specialty, however, is bringing the ball out from the back, be it via well-timed runs or long, accurate passing in a manner not too dissimilar to retired Anderlecht, Hamburg, Manchester City and Belgium defender, Vincent Kompany".
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6’1”? I thought 5’9” was the required height these days.
 
I don't know about this one. I mean I kinda get it, ake plagued with injuries, stones never fully fit, laporte out... followed his whole career as I am swiss too but the last 2-3 years weren't great. very promising when he joined dortmund. I guess with the experience he brings he can be an asset as a squad player but thats about it.
 
merz said:
I don't know about this one. I mean I kinda get it, ake plagued with injuries, stones never fully fit, laporte out... followed his whole career as I am swiss too but the last 2-3 years weren't great. very promising when he joined dortmund. I guess with the experience he brings he can be an asset as a squad player but thats about it.
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What do you think his main strengths and weaknesses are?

I’ve hardly any knowledge of him.
 
For the £15m that Ornstein is reporting, we will make a good profit on him if he plays any games for us at all.

I could easily see him having a good world cup with Switzerland, play a few games for us and then move for £30m next summer to whatever midtable side wants a CB.
 
domalino said:
For the £15m that Ornstein is reporting, we will make a good profit on him if he plays any games for us at all.

I could easily see him having a good world cup with Switzerland, play a few games for us and then move for £30m next summer to whatever midtable side wants a CB.
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Another positive angle.

Really don't think there are any downsides to this one given the fee.
 
The last position I thought we needed strengthening, but we've got a small squad so it can't hurt to bring numbers in if they're available on the cheap.

The number of games he's played per season isn't exactly encouraging though. Either injured a lot or in and out of the team.
 
Very 2 footed with pace and technical ability for a CB.

Dortmund defending been poor, but not a bad player for us to have and makes you think we have long term injuries with Laporte and Ake, leaving Pep with zero CBs who can use their left well enough + a depth crisis, and had to pounce or could be in big trouble.
 
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