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

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FantasyIreland said:
None,right now.

We have a glut of very talented centre halves just entering their prime though.
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Not sure we can really forsee how his addition will impact on future players long term who are a few years away from being a meaningful part of the team. If he impreces the squad this year though, worthwhile move at that price and space in the squad.
 
ninjamonkey said:
Making perfect sense now with the laporte information. I think we were all expecting that to come once this transfer news broke yesterday. If Laportes not back until October, that will be 5/6 months since he's played, he's going to need a rigourous pre-season to get upto speed, the world cup might actually be perfect timing for him if there's no setbacks, a few weeks of training then as long as he isn't overplayed he can use that to get sharp and come back to us ready to play in January. half a season missing Laporte, 2 cbs who have proven unreliable of late with their fitness, makes it a no brainer bringing him in. Our guys know what they're doing.
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Agree it makes sense to bring him in this season, even if I would prefer someone with more potential if we wont sign a player that would seriously compete for a starting spot in defense in a month or two when Laporte is back. Seen enough of him in Dortmund the last couple of years to make me believe he will for sure do well in a role as squad player over here, and I guess he brings some experience to the squad as well. Not sure the reported 180k/week wages (more than Dias & Laporte) on a 5 year deal to cover some short term injuries makes much long term sense though considering he will be a squad player, not a regular starter at 27y old. Hopefully the salary and contract length reported is wrong, then its a great addition to the squad in my opinion. At least we wont feel like we are one injury away from being out of options in defense anymore:) Think he can also cover Walkers role in team decent enough too, as the defensive option out of the two FBs if he plays RB. I'm sure Pep will make it work anyway, looking forward to see him in action here!
 
M43 blue said:
Would of been better keeping thb that signing this guy because he could of had the minutes this guy would get
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If THB was good enough for a tough top flight season, don't you think Pep would trust him to play a part in the first team?

City are in a difficult position. We've proven to be perennial title challengers recently, which means we've little opportunity to allow meaningful minutes to our EDS so they can learn on the job.

I can imagine the fans meltdown if we'd kept THB, Lavia, Doyle, Delap & promoted JWE, Palmer, Mbete & Lewis to the first team & sacked off this transfer window.

The reality is that we're fighting for titles & Pep will only invest longterm with players who are better than what we have, or possess the quick potential to be better.

This is why we send players out on loan, or sell them with a buyback clause or sell-on fee. We develop our players, but send them out to gain "Man Football" experience. Only the elite of the EDS will remain with us beyond 20 to see how they fit in going forward.

Some of us need to face the fact that City are not a work experience project. THB doesn't possess the quality or experience at the highest level of football like Akanji. THB may develop to be a better player than Akanji in the future, but that won't help us right now when we need it.
 
SebastianBlue said:
——————————— Ederson ————————————
————— Walker —— Stones —— Dias ———————
Cancelo —————— Rodri ————————— Alvarez
———— Gundogan —— KDB —— Foden ———————
——————————— Haaland —————————————

Convinced this side would absolutely destroy most teams (Cancelo and Alvarez would spend most of their time on their respective corners of the opposition box, often exchanging positions with Gundogan, KDB, and Foden. Walker would offer pace to cover the counter, Stones the control to play out of the back, Rodri that dominance in midfield and threat for a long range shot that distracts defenders. Haaland getting fed throughballs/crosses from everywhere in the attacking half of the pitch. And we have like-players for most of those roles (Gomez for Alvarez, Phillips for Cancelo/Rodri, etc.)

It would be utter chaos for the opposition and much more secure at the back for us.
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Don't see Pep playing Alvarez that deep in the midfield, also no Bernie?
 
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