The Switzerland squad made a nice gesture to Manuel Akanji following his recent treble-winning season with Manchester City.
The defender only joined the Citizens at the end of the previous summer transfer window after joining from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m.
With the season now over having seen the 27-year-old win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, he has since been recognised for his achievements by his national team.
Switzerland squad congratulates Akanji
In a recent Twitter post, the official Switzerland national team account shared a video of Akanji being applauded by his teammates and being presented with a special jersey that had the three trophies City lifted on it.
Across his debut season in England, the centre-back featured in 48 games for City, which highlights how quickly he became an important figure for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Throughout his 29 Premier League appearances, the Swiss international ended the campaign with the joint-highest passing accuracy percentage at the club (93%) as well as making more blocks (27) and winning more tackles (25) than any other defender in the squad.
This highlights just how much of a top signing Akanji has been for the European champions, especially for the relatively low fee they paid for him.
Taking all of that into account, it’s easy to see why the Switzerland squad and management have been particularly complimentary to him and his endeavours at City.
Moving forward, while the former Dortmund star has very much earned himself a break, if he can improve on his already impressive start to life at the Etihad Stadium, he could be seen as one of the best purchases made under Guardiola.
