Manuel Akanji is proving to be an important part of the 2022/23 Manchester City side as they push for a treble at the end of the season – and he started the UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan.
The 27-year-old joined the Citizens from Borussia Dortmund last and summer and he has helped Pep Guardiola a lot when it's comes to squad rotation this term.
The signing of Akanji has given this City side more depth and has allowed John Stones to move into the midfield, filling the hole left by Fernandinho.
The Sporting News profiles Akanji here:
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Manuel Akanji Premier League stats
Akanji has made 47 appearances so far for Man City this season, with most of those coming in the Premier League. He has only had one long-term injury in his career, a cruciate ligament rupture during his time as FC Basel.
The defender's quality has allowed his manager to count on strength in depth in defence as City search for that elusive first European crown.
Here are Akanji's stats in the Premier League for the 2022/23 campaign.
*Stats are accurate as of 10/06/2023
| Matches Played | Matches started | Clean sheets | Goals conceded | Tackle success | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 24 | 6 | 23 | 69% | 2 |
Is Manuel Akanji Nigerian?
Akanji was born in Neftenbach, Switzerland and he has made 49 appearances for the Swiss national team since his debut back in 2017.
Despite being born in the European country, Akanji could have represented Nigeria at international level. His father is from Nigeria but the player revealed why he chose not to play for the Super Eagles, choosing the Swiss instead.
Speaking to Punch, Akanji said: "Nigeria never called me to play. There was no question where I should play because Switzerland asked me if I wanted to play for them. I heard nothing from Nigeria. So it was my decision."
Akanji has now played at two FIFA World Cups, scoring at the 2022 edition in Qatar, as well as UEFA Euro 2020.
Is Manuel Akanji a genius?
Not only is Akanji showing his intelligence on the pitch, but he is also display his skills off the pitch. The Man City man is able to calculate mental arithmetics very quickly in his head.
Man City's Manuel Akanji is a maths genius 🤓🔢 pic.twitter.com/9VRkuMSaqb
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 8, 2022
When asked by Sky Sports how he became so good at mathematics, he said: "My teacher I had would always come up with competitions, calculating, and from that point I knew I was really good at it and won every time."
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