Manuel Akanji completes €2M Inter Milan loan move from Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has joined Inter Milan on loan for the 2025-26 campaign, the club have confirmed.

Akanji has two years left on his current deal at the Etihad Stadium and has won two Premier League titles, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FA Cup titles since joining on the final day of the 2022 summer transfer window from Borussia Dortmund.

The 30-year-old had attracted interest from the likes of Galatasaray and Crystal Palace in the final weeks of the transfer window, with Manchester City well stocked in central defence as they embark upon the 2025-26 campaign.

However, Akanji was keen on joining a club competing in the UEFA Champions League and fighting for major trophies, with Inter Milan winning the race to acquire the Switzerland international’s services for the season on loan.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that Inter Milan have paid Manchester City a €2 million loan fee, with a €15 million buy option becoming mandatory if Akanji plays at least 50% of Inter’s games during his time in Italy and if Inter win the 2025-26 Serie A title.

It remains to be seen whether Akanji will have a role to play under Pep Guardiola next summer, with Manchester City planning for the future and conducting a major revamp of their first-team squad following the appointment of Hugo Viana as director of football this summer.

Akanji struggled for fitness and consistency last term and with John Stones entering the final year of his Manchester City contract, it made sense for the former Borussia Dortmund centre-half to seek regular playing time elsewhere ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In his debut season in England, Akanji played an instrumental role in Manchester City’s maiden UEFA Champions League crown as he played an intricate pass to slice open the Inter Milan defence and find Bernardo Silva, who cleared cross into the box found Rodri – and the rest is history.

Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias formed Guardiola’s preferred centre-half pairing in the closing stages of the recent campaign, with the likes of Akanji, Stones and Nathan Ake being hit and miss with fitness.

City’s frailties at right-back coupled with the permanent departure of Kyle Walker this summer was believed to be enough to have convinced bosses at the Etihad Stadium to keep hold of Akanji for the 2025-26 season – owing to the 30-year-old’s ability to fill in at right-back.

However, Manchester City have decided to allow Akanji to seek regular minutes in Italy and it remains to be seen whether that decision pays dividends, with the Blues losing two of their opening three Premier League games of the season.

Akanji’s prospects at Inter Milan and how the loan plays out are likely to determine what his Manchester City future will look like, with Pep Guardiola likely to integrate Vitor Reis – signed in January and loaned to Girona for the 2025-26 season – into the first-team squad upon the young Brazilian’s return to the Etihad Stadium next summer.