Manuel Akanji
Manuel Akanji was a key figure in Manchester City's treble-winning campaign
Manchester City's position within the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) is so strong that they don't really need to worry about amortisation, the buzzword of the modern transfer for clubs needing to balance their books.
ability to generate sizeable returns from academy graduates, who count as pure profit in PSR terms, means they always have a fair bit of headroom when the numbers are crunched every season.
This is a club that has always been good at selling players, but it's pretty handy at buying them too. performance at Molineux on Saturday had plenty of experts scratching their heads at how City landed the Netherlands international for £46million.
There are few better examples than , a last-minute signing in the summer window of 2022 for just £15million and a player who has repaid that fee countless times over since then.
The 30-year-old has made 136 appearances for City, with 118 of them starts, and has won two Premier League titles, as well as the iconic treble in 2022/23. The Club World Cup would follow.
By the end of that first season, Akanji was a regular. He started every Champions League knockout fixture, including the final, played in the FA Cup final success against Manchester United and was integral in the Premier League. He was among the cohort rested after the title had been secured with a week to spare.
Even last season, he was proving his worth. The former Borussia Dortmund defender had a couple of spells on the sidelines, including a two-month absence between February and April, but still emerged as one of the most available centre-backs in the squad at a time of crisis in that area.
But elite-level football moves at a relentless pace, and his status has diminished recently. The decision to move Josko Gvardiol back to the middle of defence has increased competition there, and, as homegrown players, John Stones and Nathan Ake are arguably more integral to the squad's structure.
Then there is Abdukodir Khusanov, who was bought on ahead of Akanji (and Ake) at Wolves, while there are high hopes for teenage Brazilian Vitor Reis. With Pep Guardiola desperate to see his City squad trimmed, Akanji was always vulnerable.
Galatasaray are the club trying to take advantage of that situation, and, to return to the intro here, if they signed him for a fee as low as £6million, City would be breaking even, bearing in mind that the initial £15million fee was spread over his five-year contract for amortisation performances.
Despite now being in his 30s (although only since last month), City must fancy their chances of getting at least that for a centre-back who has proved himself to be in the top bracket in Europe in recent years. They could even recoup something close to the fee they paid Dortmund, which would then go down as an accounting profit.
If Akanji does leave, he would go with the best wishes of supporters and Guardiola's staff, and with his status secure as one of those players who helped bring about that treble. Despite his low transfer fee, Akanji was no bit-part player. He is one of the best deals City have done in recent years, and that could still be true if he's sold in the next two weeks.
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