Lee Dixon has praised Manchester City’s transfer move for Manuel Akanji and the effect that Pep Guardiola has had on the defender.
Back in September, the Citizens signed the Switzerland international from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m.
Having then gone on to win the Premier League and the FA Cup, as well as having the chance to win the Champions League as well, the centre-back has found himself on the receiving end of some heavy praise from one pundit, in particular.
Dixon praises Akanji
Speaking on ITV’s live commentary for the FA Cup final, Dixon said this about Akanji.
He said: “Yeah he signed for relative pittance, and it just shows you what a good coach can do to a so-called average player, he’s fit into this backline brilliantly, and he can play anywhere along it as well.”
Across his debut season in England, the 27-year-old has made 47 appearances for the Citizens in all competitions, which shows how quickly he has become an important and prominent figure in the team.
In terms of his efforts in the league, the defender ended the campaign with the joint-second highest passing accuracy percentage (93%) in the division alongside John Stones.
Then in terms of his defensive work, only Rodri (41) won more tackles than the former Dortmund player (25) in City’s squad.
Taking all of that into account, it’s clear that Akanji has been a top signing for the Manchester club, considering the price they paid for him when they have a track record of spending significant amounts of money on players.
Looking ahead to the Champions League final, if the centre-back can put in a strong performance in Istanbul in against Inter Milan, his presence at the back will give City a great chance of winning the trophy and ending the season with the treble.
