Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool wanted to sign Manuel Akanji before he made the move to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
That is according to The Independent, which has claimed that the defender was on the radar of Liverpool.
So, what is being reported about Liverpool and Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji? Let’s take a look.
What’s the story?
Well, according to The Independent, Liverpool looked at signing Manuel Akanji in the past. Arsenal were also linked with the defender.
Akanji was on the books of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s former club Borussia Dortmund from 2018 until 2022.
The 28-year-old joined Manchester City from Dortmund in the summer of 2022. The defending Premier League champions are paying the Switzerland international defender a weekly salary of £180,000 (Spotrac).
Akanji is a centre-back by trade, but he has played at left-back and in defensive midfield for City, who won the UEFA Champions League last season.
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City will take on Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.
Liverpool should have signed Manuel Akanji before Manchester City
In my view, Liverpool should have signed Manuel Akanji before he moved to Manchester City in the summer of 2022.
If the Switzerland international was already on Liverpool’s radar and they still chose not to make a move for him, then we have to question the Reds.
After all, City signed Akanji. If Pep Guardiola thinks that the defender is good enough for his team, then he is good enough for Liverpool.
There is speculation that the Reds are looking for a new centre-back to partner Virgil van Dijk.
I believe that Akanji would have been a very good signing who would have made an immediate impact at Liverpool, just like he has done at City