For all the attention on Erling Haaland, a strange quirk of Manchester City’s ominous start to the Premier League season is that he may not even be their best signing from Borussia Dortmund this summer. After all, taking advantage of a generational talent’s release clause was always a no-brainer, even with competition from practically every elite club in Europe. There was much less fanfare and far fewer suitors for Manuel Akanji.
And yet Akanji’s start to life has suggested that his €17m deadline day arrival could ultimately be considered one of the steals of the season, despite it being a deal that initially felt unnecessary. The 27-year-old became the fifth senior recognised centre-half in Pep Guardiola’s squad at a point when, if anything, reinforcements were needed at full-back. City are certainly short in that department now following Kyle Walker’s groin injury.
