Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji has reportedly rejected numerous offers this summer in order to leave for the Premier League, with Arsenal one of the sides chasing the centre-back.
According to Sport1, the Swiss international has rejected ‘several clubs’ in recent weeks with Akanji being very picky about which club he decides to leave Dortmund for, with the report stating that he’s dreaming of a move to England despite the defender slowly running out of time to facilitate a move.
Akanji has been eager to leave Dortmund for most of the window following the arrivals of Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck, and Arsenal have been one side who have been linked with the 26-year-old titan, who is available this summer for a reported £25m and has been offered to Edu according to reports.
As per Sport1, Manchester United are also interested in Akanji and are believed to be the favourites to sign the former FC Basel star, with Erik Ten Hag likely to add more defensive recruitments this summer following the arrival of Lisandro Martinez, another player Arsenal were reportedly interested in signing.
Indeed, Akanji has been a consistent performer and could be well-suited to the Premier League, and this update on his desire to only leave Dortmund for England is a promising sign for the likes of Arsenal and United, who could now increase their efforts to sign the Swiss international.
Whilst Arsenal are stacked in the centre-back position, Arteta’s goal this summer appears to be to improve the squad depth ahead of the club’s return to European football, and Akanji could be a smart option of the likes of Pablo Mari and Hector Bellerin are to leave north London for good.
Arsenal could tempt Akanju to leave Dortmund over United
United arguably have a bigger case than Arsenal to sign Akanji, with the Red Devils’ central defensive options hardly filling fans up with confidence following last season’s shambles, yet despite this, the Gunners could tempt the Swiss star to move to the English capital rather than Manchester.
After all, Akanji’s international teammate and captain, Granit Xhaka, is already at Arsenal, and the defender could prove to be a quality backup and rotational player for the Gunners if Arteta is to make an honest attempt to sign the 26-year-old old in the coming weeks.
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