Manchester City have one of the strongest squads in European football.
Having won four consecutive Premier League trophies in a row, 14 members of Pep Guardiola’s squad were selected to represent their countries in the 2024 European Championship.
In the buildup to one of the games in the quarter-final round of the tournament, one of City’s international stars found himself on the receiving end of some significant praise.
Danny Murphy says Manuel Akanji is a “Rolls-Royce”
While assessing the Switzerland team ahead of their quarter-final clash against England, Murphy had this to say about their defenders in a recent video shared on the talkSPORT YouTube channel, with one particular City player getting a special mention.
He said: “The lads at the back are very comfortable on the ball – [Manuel] Akanji, [Fabian] Schar and Rodriguez.
“I mean, Akanji is an absolute machine, a Rolls-Royce.”
Akanji is a top defender
City paid just £15m to sign the centre-half from Borussia Dortmund towards the end of the 2022 summer transfer window.
Since then, the 28-year-old, who Rio Ferdinand recently said doesn’t get the credit he deserves, has made 96 appearances for the Blues across all competitions.
Ahead of Switzerland’s game against England, Akanji has played every minute of action for his country throughout the tournament, which highlights how important he is for them.
He’s also racked up the joint-highest number of interceptions (19) in the Switzerland ranks and has the highest passing accuracy percentage (91.7%) out of players who have attempted more than 13 passes in the tournament.
Looking back over his previous Premier League campaign with City, the defender ended the season with the second-highest number of clearances (70) and third-highest total of successful tackles (28) in Guardiola’s squad.
This showcases how much of a capable defender he is and backs up why Murphy has labelled him as a Rolls-Royce.
