Rijo Sam Daniel
Arsenal offered chance to sign Borussia Dortmund star Manuel Akanji amid Manchester United transfer links
According to The Sun, Arsenal have been provided with the opportunity to sign Borussia Dortmund star Manuel Akanji amid links to Manchester United for a potential transfer. His future is up in the air despite being a regular presence in his side’s defence in the previous season.
Man United have already been linked with a move for Akanji as they look to improve their defensive options this summer. Now, the Gunners could scupper the former’s transfer plans if they take up the offer to finalise a move for the central defender. The latter has lost his place in the team following Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck’s signing and Marco Rose’s sacking.
That has prompted Akanji’s representatives to propose his services to Mikel Arteta’s side, although it is claimed that the English side are unlikely to accept the offer. That is because Arsenal prefer to sign a left-footed centre-half, unlike the Swiss international, which would be a boost for the Red Devils.
Feasible signing for Man Utd?
Following the disastrous 2021-22 campaign, the Mancunians must try their best to uplift the squad’s quality if there are plans to back Erik ten Hag moving forward. However, there are quite a lot of positions that need to be reinforced this summer which means that we may be forced to look for sensible market opportunities.
The likes of Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof have not performed to their best despite enjoying a fair amount of minutes last campaign. As such, we must look for options that can add more competition to the backline ahead of the upcoming season.
Akanji could be one such case as Dortmund are looking to part ways with him as they have conveyed to him that he is free to leave Signal Iduna Park. Both the Gunners and the Red Devils can’t offer Champions League football to Akanji next season.
That being said, the German side has set a valuation of £21million for the 26-year-old defender. While that fee is certainly reasonable, it would not make sense to pay that amount, especially when they secured Schlotterbeck’s services for around the same price.
Fortunately, it is believed that the price tag could drop as a result which we must look to take advantage of this summer. Then again, it would be wise to discuss the matter with ten Hag and see whether Akanji would suit his plans before we actively target him this summer.
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As such, let’s wait and see how this situation pans out in the coming weeks. It is important for a top team to have four good centre-backs in their ranks and with Eric Bailly constantly being overlooked for several seasons, it is about time we add some competition at the back.
