By Betsefy
Manchester City have reportedly reached an agreement with Borussia Dortmund to sign centre-back Manuel Akanji.
The Bundesliga club are believed to be willing to offload the 27-year-old, who has less than 12 months remaining on his contract.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Inter Milan and Juventus have all been credited with an interest in the 6ft 2in defender at some stage this summer, but Man City now seem to have won the race for his signature.
A recent report claimed that there is optimism from both sides that an agreement can be reached for Akanji to join the Premier League champions on a permanent deal.
Now, Sky Sports News claims that Man City have agreed to sign Akanji for an initial £15m plus £1.7m in add-ons.
The report adds that the Switzerland international is already in the UK ahead of undergoing his medical and signing his contract.
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Manager Pep Guardiola refused to rule out the prospect of recruiting more players before the transfer window shuts when questioned at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
When asked whether the Citizens will be conducting further business in the transfer market, Guardiola said: “I don’t know what will happen.”
Akanji is set to become City’s fifth signing of the summer window following the arrivals of Erling Braut Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega and Sergio Gomez.
Guardiola already has four senior centre-back in his first-team squad, although Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake are both ruled out at present due to injury.
Laporte is yet to play for City this season after undergoing knee surgery over the summer, and the 27-year-old could be sidelined until the end of September.
Ake, meanwhile, was withdrawn in the first 20 minutes of their 3-3 draw away against Newcastle United with a groin problem and has since missed last weekend’s 4-2 win over Crystal Palace, which saw both Ruben Dias and John Stones start at centre-back.
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Academy graduate Luke Mbebe, who has stepped up to train with the senior squad, is another on the treatment table after sustaining concussion in the friendly encounter against Barcelona last week.
Akanji has been a first-team regular for Dortmund since joining the club from Basel in the summer of 2018, and has made a total of 158 appearances across all tournaments.
However, the Swiss defender has now fallen down the pecking order under head coach Edin Terzic, with summer signings Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck as well as veteran Mats Hummels all preferred ahead of him at centre-back.
Akanji could be signed in time to make his debut for Man City when they make the trip to Villa Park on Saturday to face Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, City have reportedly agreed to sell teenage starlets Sam Edozie and Juan Larios to Southampton, with both players set to complete permanent transfers to the South Coast within the “next hours”, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.
