Manuel Akanji reveals truth behind Manchester City exit to Inter | OneFootball

Manchester City’s on-loan defender Manuel Akanji has revealed the truth behind his loan exit from the Etihad Stadium to Italian giants Inter on deadline day.

The Switzerland international’s future has been a recurring theme throughout the final weeks of the transfer window, with Tottenham, AC Milan, and Galatasaray all registering interest at various stages.

Ultimately, Inter Milan were the club to strike an agreement with Manchester City, finalising a loan deal that includes a €2 million fee, part-coverage of the defender’s salary, and a €15 million buy-option clause that only becomes mandatory under ‘difficult’ conditions.

Such conditions were later revealed to be Akanji and his Inter teammates emerging as Serie A champions come the end of the season, as well as the City defender featuring in more than 50 per cent of those matches.

For Pep Guardiola, the sheer depth of centre-back options – with Ruben Dias, John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Nathan Aké, and Abdukodir Khusanov already in contention – made it increasingly challenging to guarantee the 30-year-old significant minutes.

Speaking during a press conference whilst away representing the Swiss national team, as translated and relayed by Football Italia, Manuel Akanji revealed the honest truth behind his last-minute exit from Manchester City.

“There were six central defenders in the squad, he [Pep Guardiola] openly told us it would not be easy for anyone to have regular playing time. And that was the case,” Akanji revealed.

The 30-year-old continued, “It was not an ideal situation, but I was well aware of the competition for places.”

For Manchester City, the departure reduces the logjam in Pep Guardiola’s defensive department and the squad as a whole, but raises questions about whether further depth may be required if injuries hit later in the campaign.

As seen with past seasons, the Premier League and UEFA Champions League calendars test squad depth, and Manchester City could yet be forced to lean heavily on their younger centre-backs if exits are not offset.

Looking forward, much will depend on how Manuel Akanji settles into life at the San Siro. Should he thrive in Chivu’s system and meet the buy-option conditions, Manchester City may permanently lose the experienced defender come next summer.