Manuel Akanji names Chelsea player he’d love to play with, and it’s not Cole Palmer | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has revealed which Chelsea player he would love to play with, and it’s not Cole Palmer.

Palmer has been a revelation following his summer move from Manchester City and is joint top of the scoring charts with former team-mate Erling Haaland on 20 goals.

Given the season the 21-year-old has had, you would think he’d be the obvious choice for any City player if they had to choose a Chelsea player to play with.

The England international is arguably the best signing made under the Todd Boehly and Clearlake ownership, and in a deal potentially rising to £42.5m appears to be a bargain.

Given Akanji is a defender it’s perhaps not surprising he singled out Thiago Silva and admitted he was a big fan of the Brazilian.

Speaking to the Official Manchester City podcast Akanji revealed he would pick Silva in his dream team.

“I might say Thiago Silva” , he said.

“I’m still a big fan of him, he’s still at a high level and around the time when he was at AC Milan, he was one of my favourite centre-backs to play at the time.

“Sergio Ramos was also probably one of the greatest centre-backs that ever played but if I had to pick one, I would probably say Thiago Silva.”

The 39-year-old has spent a lot of time on the bench in 2024, but has completed 90 minutes in each of Chelsea’s last two Premier League games.

It’s widely expected Silva won’t be offered a new contract when his current deal expires at the end of the season.

Chelsea registered their first clean sheet for 13 games on Monday night with Silva being partnered by Trevoh Chalobah.

The Brazil international will be hoping to keep his place in the starting line-up for Saturday’s FA Cup semi final against Manchester City at Wembley, as the Blues look to make their second cup final of the season.