A key member of Manchester City’s treble-winning season is currently contemplating leaving the Premier League club.
With only a few days left in the summer transfer market, Man City still have work to do to reduce Pep Guardiola’s squad for the 2025/26 campaign, as the legendary coach made it clear after the victory over Wolves last Saturday that this is still an issue for him.
The Premier League giants have made significant progress on this over the last two weeks, with Claudio Echeverri moving to Bayer Leverkusen on loan being the latest departure.
There is very likely to be more exits before the current transfer window shuts, and it is now being reported that a “fantastic” star at the Etihad Stadium is considering leaving Man City.
Ederson and Manuel Akanji shake hands during Manchester City v Southampton.
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
Manuel Akanji is now considering leaving Man City
Guardiola made his plans for Manuel Akanji clear against Wolves as the centre-back was an unused substitute at Molineux, alongside Nathan Ake and Ilkay Gundogan.
That caught the attention of several clubs, and it was reported by Fabrizio Romano this week that a £15m deal has been agreed between Man City and Galatasaray for the 30-year-old, but the centre-back has yet to decide on the move to Turkey.
More Man City News
This has been backed up by the Daily Mail, with their Man City correspondent, Jack Gaughan, now reporting that Akanji is currently assessing his options and will be allowed to determine what happens next with his future.
Guardiola is a big fan of the Swiss star and made that clear from the get-go by stating after his debut via mancity.com: “Manuel is really intelligent and great with the ball. City brought me and the club a fantastic player. He’s a fantastic age at 27 and mature, so yeah, really good.”
Akanji’s future will likely become clearer after Man City’s match with Tottenham on Saturday, and if the defender fails to get on the pitch again, the 30-year-old is likely to depart the Etihad Stadium next week.
Should Man City allow Manuel Akanji to leave
It was reported this week that Everton have an interest in Nathan Ake, and there is a strong chance that either the Dutch defender or Akanji will be sold before the summer transfer window shuts.
With there being rumours regarding his future throughout the summer, Akanji is more likely to depart Man City, and it feels like now is the right time for the 30-year-old to leave.
The Swiss star was incredible during the treble-winning season, but since then, the centre-back’s form has been hot and cold.
With Guardiola needing the size of his squad reduced, £15m is a great deal for City, having bought Akanji for the same price three years ago. A move would be best for all parties, but that is now in the hands of the player.