Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on deadline day signing Manuel Akanji after a “confident” debut for Manchester City in their 4-0 win over Sevilla in Tuesday’s Champions League opener.
The centre-half was brought to the club by Pep Guardiola to provide ample cover amid numerous injuries among his defenders. Kyle Walker and John Stones sat out the win in Spain, while Aymeric Lamporte was still sidelined.
Akanji missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa due to the birth of his second child just days after making the move over to England. But the 27-year-old helped his side keep a clean sheet on his City bow, and impressed BT Sport pundits Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott with his performance.
