Manchester City set to sign Manuel Akanji for 17.5 million euros

Manchester City are looking to make Dortmund centre-back Manuel Akanji their sixth major signing of the summer transfer window.

The Premier League Champions, who have added Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez and Stefan Ortega to their squad already this summer, are on course to complete another deal before the close of the transfer window.

City boss Pep Guardiola would not rule out bringing in more signings before Thursday’s transfer deadline when he spoke to the press in his news conference ahead of Wednesday’s game against Nottingham Forest.

Asked about any further transfer business, he said: “I don’t know, I don’t know what will happen.”

City have four senior centre-backs in their squad, but injuries to Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake have left the Spaniard short in that area, so Manchester City have decided to move for Akanji after he entered the final 12 months of his contract with Borussia Dortmund.

According to The Athletic, Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City are close to reaching an agreement over the transfer of Manuel Akanji.

The report add that negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing and there is optimism that an agreement will be reached for a fee of around 17.5 million euros.

The Swiss defender has made over 100 Bundesliga appearances, though is yet to feature for Borussia Dortmund this season.

Akanji has one-year remaining on his current contract, having made 36 appearances for Dortmund last season.

The central defender has been linked with a number of clubs in recent months, including Manchester United, Inter Milan, Arsenal and Juventus.