Pep Guardiola has the chance to sign his next version of Manuel Akanji at Manchester City this summer by securing a transfer deal for Benjamin Pavard.
Back in September, the Citizens signed Akanji from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m.
This quickly turned out to be a stunning piece of business from the Manchester club as the 27-year-old became one of City’s most prominent players throughout their treble-winning campaign.
Not even a year later, we feel that the City boss has the opportunity to repeat this particularly piece of history by bringing in a new player that could be seen as their next version of Akanji – Benjamin Pavard.
Pavard could be Guardiola’s next Akanji
Earlier this week, it was reported that the treble winners have identified the Frenchman, who could cost the club €30m (£25m) to sign, as a suitable replacement for Kyle Walker should he end up joining Bayern Munich this summer.
Having signed Akanji from a German club for a fairly cheap price, a potential move for Pavard could mirror it given how they are both the same age and wouldn’t need City to break the bank to get him.
Described as an “outstanding” player by Uli Hoeneß, the France international showcased his defensive quality in the Bundesliga last season as he ended the campaign with the second-highest number of clearances (83) and the second-highest combined total of tackles and interceptions (114) in the Bayern squad.
Bearing in mind how Guardiola shared how important the defensive strength of his team has been over the last few months of their previous season, this could be why he wants someone as defensively capable as Pavard in his squad.
With all of that in mind if the Citizens end up landing a deal for the Bayern figure and he can have a similar sort of impact in the team as Akanji did last season, then this will undoubtedly be another very smart piece of business from the Manchester club.
