Incredibly great’… Manuel Akanji says there’s two Man City players he loves training with

‘Incredibly great’… Manuel Akanji says there’s two Man City players he loves training with

Manuel Akanji has named two Manchester City teammates he loves defending against in training.

The centre-half is now in his second season at the Manchester club, carrying on from his Treble-winning debut campaign last term.

Having fully settled into life at the Etihad Stadium, the defender has now shared some behind-the-scenes details on his early days at the club and what he enjoys doing on the training pitch.

Akanji says he loves training against Haaland and Grealish

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Speaking in a recent interview with Schweizer Illustrierte, Akanji had this to say about what it was like in his early days at City and what it’s like to train against Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish on a regular basis.

He said: “In the meantime, it is normal, but when I first came into the [dressing room], it was already special.

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“It is incredibly motivating to be on the pitch with the best players in the world. And if I defend against them in training, I want to show my performance. And I think I’m now on a level where I can do it well.

“To be challenged by people like Haaland or Grealish every day is incredibly great.”

City signed the Switzerland international from Borussia Dortmund towards the end of the 2022 summer transfer window in a deal worth £15m.

Since then, the defender has made 77 appearances for the Blues across all competitions prior to their away match at Bournemouth, chipping in with four goals and one assist.

In terms of having to defend against Grealish and Haaland in training, the fact that the Norwegian is such a proficient goalscorer makes it easy to see why Akanji would enjoy training against him to challenge himself.

Then with Grealish, the fact that he made more successful take-ons (45) and carries into the penalty area (63) than any other City player in the Premier League last season shows how difficult he could be to defend.