AC Milan have set their sights on Manuel Akanji for the defence but according to Fabrizio Romano, they could face heavy competition from Tottenham.
After the defeat against Cremonese in the Serie A opener, Max Allegri asked the management to sign another centre-back and Igli Tare has been working on it since. Several names have been mentioned, but Akanji has been pointed out as the main target.
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Just this morning, Romano reported that Milan more or less had an agreement with Man City already at £15m, so around €17m, but that the salary remains an obstacle. Now, convincing the player could become even tougher.
Spurs open talks with City
According to Romano, Tottenham have now joined the race for Akanji, who is one of three players on their shortlist for the defence. It remains to be seen if they are willing to match Milan’s offer, i.e. £15m, but they can certainly pay more than the Rossoneri in wages.
🚨⚪️ EXCLUSIVE: Tottenham make approach with Man City for Manuel Akanji, one of 3 names on shortlist.
AC Milan are also in talks over move for the defender, ready to pay £15m fee but still in talks over personal terms 🔴⚫️#THFC and Milan want CB before the end of the window. pic.twitter.com/ucEvzgeKqK
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 29, 2025
In other words, the decision could come down to Akanji. Milan and Allegri will have to make it clear that he would have a leading role in the team, playing in the middle of a three-man backline. Whether that’s enough to convince him, however, is another question.
Jakub Kiwior has been mentioned as an alternative for the Rossoneri, but his move to Porto is imminent per the latest reports.
He has 6M net + some bonuses probably. When you find the salary for players in PL they are gross. So -45% tax to net.
I am really curious how much Milan is offering lol. Last 3 days you don’t cherry pick, beggars can’t be choosers. If you messed up during the last 2 months and you didn’t sign what was necessary, pay and get it done.
I’ll tell you what they aren’t offering, and that’s CL football. Good Luck competing against that.
If I were the manager of Man City, I would not sell to a rival team (Premiere League). I would sell Akanji to Spain/Italy/France, etc.
Guardiola doesn’t care. Not a loser. He’d sell to Arsenal.
Well there goes that idea.
Any EPL club will offer much more than us so we can forget about him unfortunately.
AGAIN the incompetence of management. Waiting till the LAST few days of the transfer window to address a need. Unreal.
Kiwior is also gone to Porto.
Nobody left. AGAIN we WAITED for a “bargain” that never came. Backfired.
We have Zero ball playing CB – LOLOLOLO. Allegri did NOT want to sell Thiaw because he knew he was the only ball playing CB suited for a back 3. Now we are screwed. So screwed we have to start Musah as a Right wing back again to add more cover? Hahahahaha! U cannot make this trash up.
And some idiots think Redbird is doing a good job??? Look at all the transfer failures and missed opportunities over the past few years. It’s unbelievable.
Pray for 2028 when Redbird finally sells our beloved club.
This will be extremely hard to get him to choose over Tottenham. And Kiwior has joined Porto. Looks like we missed out on signing Commuzzo and Leon when we had the chance…
Honestly, I don’t know how this transfer market will end up looking. There were many highs but now it’s feeling very low, especially with a questionable Nkunku singing, no true 9, and missing defender.
Wow Will it be like song in Frozen: for the first time in forever, we can outbid EPL team.
Nah I think it’ll be more like “let it go, let it go”….as we see the transfer slip away 😂😂😂
Underrated 🙂
We outbidding a major EPL club? It’s not going to happen so we can kiss Akanji goodbye. He was maybe the most important signing, to stop conceding silly goals. Without him we’re in trouble as there are no good alternatives.
Hope he goes for Tottenham. Scouts should be able to find younger, hungrier, potentially better players for lesser wages. That’s their job in the end.
So instead of a proven player on the highest stage let’s sign a young prospect who may or may not develop into a useful player?
Yeah thats the winning strategy.
If Milan signs a young player same people will complain that they are only signing prospects.
If Milan signs player in his prime those same people complain why instead they didn’t sign a younger cheaper player.
At the end the goal is just to complain I guess.
Don’t stall. Akanji in the cb role will completely change this season. Get it done
Why Tottenham? You’ve got Porro, Romero, van der Ven. Another instance of a perfectly talented footballer being wasted by being on the bench of a club that doesn’t need them.