Manuel Akanji hasn’t made an appearance for Manchester City since their Club World Cup campaign.
The centre-back has two years left in his contract and AC Milan have shown keen interest in him. Their sporting director, Igli Tare, publicly talked about this, but he has rejected their approach.
That’s according to Gazzetta dello Sport, who report the Manchester City player turned them down because he wants to play in the Champions League.
It’s explained the 30-year-old can fulfil this with the Serie A club’s rivals Inter Milan, and he’d also be a good fit for them.
The Nerazzurri are running out of time, but the report states an ‘attempt is underway’ to satisfy all parties.
Gianluca Di Marzio backs up Inter’s interest in the Switzerland international and provides more on this case.
Inter’s Benjamin Pavard is attracting interest from Marseille and work is ongoing on that front.
Di Marzio reports the former Bayern Munich man’s situation would have no bearing on Cristian Chivu’s side pursuing Akanji. In fact, he insists the deal for the Manchester City defender is progressing well and Inter are ‘ready to close’ his signing.
Di Marzio took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to add that Inter have ‘agreed a deal’ with Pep Guardiola’s side to sign Akanji on loan with an option to buy. They will pay a €2m loan fee and a purchase option is set at €15m.