Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has already proven to be a great signing for the Premier League champions. 

The Lowdown: Man City’s swoop for Akanji

The Manchester club signed the defender from Borussia Dortmund on the final day of the summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported £15m. 

After seeing the defender arrive at the Etihad Stadium, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said that it was a “very good strategy in the summer when [the] City board decided to sign Akanji on permanent deal in the final days as ‘jolly/opportunity’ and with no plans to sell any CB.”

Now that the Premier League has taken a break to accommodate the World Cup, in which Akanji will be representing Switzerland, let’s take a look at how good of a signing he has been for Pep Guardiola’s side. 

The Latest: Akanji’s season so far 

Having played in 12 games for City across the Premier League and Champions League, this shows how important a figure he has quickly become for Guardiola. 

Across his eight league appearances, the 27-year-old has successfully completed 575 of his 609 passes attempted, leaving him with the highest percentage of successful passes (94.4%) in the entire division. 

He has also made more progressive passes (25) than fellow City defenders Nathan Ake (23), John Stones (19) and Aymeric Laporte (13). 

In terms of his defensive work, Akanji has won nine tackles, made nine blocks and made eight clearances, putting him in the top five for each metric at the Etihad. 

The Verdict: A big positive for City 

With an overall performance rating of 6.68/10 from WhoScored, this also eclipses the likes of Ake (6.64/10) and Laporte (6.59/10). 

This further highlights just how impressive the former Dortmund star has been for his new club and how little time it has taken him to settle in and become an important player for the team. 

Bearing in mind the unexpected nature of this signing in how it happened right at the end of the summer transfer window when City spotted an opportunity, it’s safe to say that this gamble has already paid off for the club, who clearly have a solid defender on their hands.