Why Man City changed their transfer plan to sign Manuel Akanji

Even Manuel Akanji could not hide the fact that his move to Manchester City was anything but written in the stars.

While some transfer targets are established in the beginning of the summer and eventually sealed in the final days, this deal was not that. As the new no.25 put it: "It was a bit unexpected in the last stage of the transfer market, but when Manchester City asked me if I wanted to come here, I had no doubts about moving here."

Pep Guardiola had a week ago said that the club had discussed the idea of signing another central defender but dismissed the idea and would only do it if they woke up one morning and felt like it. What changed then?

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Injuries to current central defenders cannot be ignored. That isn't to say that problems with Nathan Ake and Aymeric Laporte are worse than feared, but more that a familiar problem has reared its head.

City nearly blew the title race on the final day with veteran midfielder Fernandinho filling in at centre-half, and the presence of just two fit central defenders in the squad for the last two matchdays is not sustainable for an assault on four competitions. Guardiola is well aware that Dias accentuated his injury issues last season by being rushed back so has no desire to do that with Laporte, while Ake and Stones have both had chequered histories with staying fit.

The solution was far from obvious though, as the Blues found out when seeking replacements for Ake earlier in the summer when Chelsea were interested; how do you find a defender good enough to play in a Guardiola side who is willing to come to a club where you won't play every week because there are already excellent