Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji was something of an unsung hero last season – but the star is surely now facing a drastic cut in his minutes in 2023/24.
City are looking to go again after their amazing Treble win last term.
Pep Guardiola’s players will have now dusted themselves off after the defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield.
It’s Burnley up first for City on Friday.
Vincent Kompany’s side could provide a stern test, and it’s important for City to start the season in the right way.
Burnley were fairly free-scoring last season, which has made a welcome change for their supporters.
So City will have to be at it defensively.
It will be interesting to see if Akanji starts in defence. And actually, it will be interesting to see just how much he’s going to play this season.
Man City have made two decisions that will threaten Manuel Akanji’s minutes this season
Akanji was absolutely amazing last season for City.
No one really expected him to have the impact he did after his £15 million transfer. Many just thought he would be a rotation option.
But he played 48 games for City across all competitions, for a total of 3809 minutes.
He featured in multiple roles in City’s backline, and looked comfortable wherever and whenever he played.
Pep Guardiola loves him. And the fans adore him.
But he is surely going to see less game time in 2023/24. City have made two decisions that make this a strong possibility.
Firstly, the signing of Josko Gvardiol now all but stops Akanji from featuring on the left for City.
That position is now up for grabs between the Croatian and Nathan Ake who, like Akanji, was sensational last season.
And it has been reported today that Kyle Walker has now decided he will not join Bayern Munich, after much flirting by the Bavarian giants.
Walker did verbally agree to join, but he has changed his mind.
Akanji will have to work his socks off to get near 48 appearances again
The Walker news undoubtedly impacts Akanji.
City have fought hard to ensure that Walker stays.
Pep Guardiola even dined out with him the other night, presumably to tryna convince him further to stay.
And the Spaniard has been handing Walker the captain’s armband in pre-season.
Make no mistake about it, the England international is still a hugely important player in this City team.
Akanji – who Sam Allardyce branded ‘unbelievable’ after seeing him in the flesh as Leeds United manager – has been utterly brilliant in a City shirt since he came last year.
But he now has a serious fight on his hands for minutes, and he will do exceptionally well to get anywhere near the 48 appearances he got last season.
