Man Utd ‘interested’ in defender with transfer ‘becoming more apparent’
Man Utd are interested in signing Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji this summer, according to reports in Germany.
The Switzerland international moved to the Bundesliga side in 2018 from Basel for €18m and has been a regular since joining Dortmund.
Akanji has 148 appearances to his name over the four and a half seasons he has spent at Signal Iduna Park with three goals to his name.
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Man Utd are currently having issues as centre-back with captain Harry Maguire coming under a huge amount of pressure to improve his performances this season.
The England international was at fault for Burnley’s equaliser in the Red Devils’ 1-1 draw at Turf Moor last night with Rio Ferdinand criticising the centre-back.
And now Sport1 chief reporter Patrick Berger claims that Man Utd ‘are interested’ in Akanji after he ‘rejected an initial offer to extend’ his contract at Dortmund.
The 26-year-old centre-back is out of contract in the summer of 2023 and now a ‘summer change is becoming more and more apparent’.
Manuel Akanji (Vertrag bis 2023) hat ein erstes Angebot zur Verlängerung beim #BVB abgelehnt, wie wir im Podcast #DieDortmundWoche vor einigen Wochen berichtet haben. Ein Sommer-Wechsel zeichnet sich immer mehr ab. Nach unseren Infos ist Manchester United interessiert. @SPORT1
— Patrick Berger (@berger_pj) February 8, 2022
Speaking four years ago, Akanji revealed that he has supported Man Utd since he was a child and that he would welcome a move to Old Trafford one day.
“Many know that Manchester United has been my favourite club since childhood,” Ajanji said in 2018.
“It would be nice to play there, but that’s not an issue right now.
“I am very satisfied in Dortmund, I want to win titles with BVB and compete in many more big tournaments with the Swiss national teams.”
Meanwhile, Man Utd interim boss Ralf Rangnick bemoaned his side’s luck as they had two goals disallowed in their draw with Burnley last night.
“We scored three goals in the first half, I couldn’t blame the team for not having a killer instinct in the first half,” he said on BT Sport.
“But yes, at the end, in the last 25 minutes as I said we had a lot of set-pieces, a lot of free-kicks, corner kicks. In the end it was also a little question of luck, with (a chance for) Rafa Varane, the header of Cristiano Ronaldo, the header of Harry Maguire.
“But again, in the end, one point for a performance like this is just not enough.”
