New Eintracht Frankfurt striker Ali Akman has admitted that he turned down Manchester City before signing a four-year deal with the Bundesliga outfit, while speaking to NTV Spor.
While the Eagles won’t fancy being known as a ‘stepping stone’ club, they should take pride in the fact that young players see Commerzbank Arena as a place where they can develop their skills before moving on, earning Frankfurt a substantial profit in the process.
Sebastien Haller and Luka Jovic departed for a combined fee of around £90 million after that sensational 2018/19 campaign, while Portugal international Andre Silva has rediscovered his Midas Touch in Germany after a confidence-sapping spell at AC Milan.
Akman will now be looking to follow in the footsteps of Silva, Jovic and co, after rejecting Pep Guardiola’s Premier League leaders to join Frankfurt from Bursaspor.
“Atalanta, Valencia and Manchester City were also very serious candidates (to sign me). My mind went to Manchester City for a while, but it was not difficult to make a decision after thinking carefully,” Akman explained.
“I wanted to move forward step by step. I thought that (Frankfurt) would give me a better education in Germany.”
Akman, who has scored 10 goals in 18 games for Bursaspor this season, will join Frankfurt on a free transfer when his contract expires in July.
Perhaps he felt that, even with Sergio Aguero struggling with injuries, first-team opportunities would not be particularly frequent at the Etihad Stadium.
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