Man Utd planning €30m raid for wantaway Dortmund defender

Stefan Bienkowski

8 Feb 2022 21:32 GMT
5 min read

Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji — © ProShots

Manchester United’s summer transfer window will undoubtedly be dominated by the club’s need to sign a central midfielder.

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However, according to a new report in Germany, the Old Trafford side may also be working on signing another defensive target too.

According to German broadcaster Sport 1, Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji has rejected the Bundesliga side’s latest offer of a new deal that would see his salary rise to €9.5 million per year.

While this may simply be the preliminary rounds of negotiations, the German outlet believe much of Akanji’s refusal comes down to Man Utd manager Ralf Rangnick’s efforts to entice the player to England in the summer.

So why would Akanji leave Dortmund in a few months time and how much could he cost Man Utd to sign?

Manuel Akanji has rejected a latest offer of €9.5m salary p.a. to extend his #BVB contract (running until 2023), as we already reported. Been told Manchester United are very keen to sign him in summer. Price tag: €30m. Reunion at #MUFC with his buddy Jadon Sancho? 🔴⚪️ @SPORT1
— Patrick Berger (@berger_pj) February 8, 2022

How much would Akanji cost Man Utd?

Although Akanji may simply prefer a move to England over staying put in Germany, there could also be other factors at play here.

For instance, the Bundesliga side recently announced that they would be signing Niklas Sule from Bayern Munich in the summer, who would undoubtedly be making the move to the Westfalenstadion as a direct rival to Akanji’s spot in the team.

As such, the Switzerland international may simply be looking at the pecking order in Marco Rose’s team and realising that he simply won’t be afforded as many starting roles in the team next season.

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A post shared by Manuel Obafemi Akanji (@obafemi_36)

So how much would Akanji cost Man Utd? According to FootballTransfers’ algorithm, the 26-year-old defender is currently valued at €31 million and could go for anywhere between €23-38m.

Sport1 are reporting that due to Akanji’s contract expiring in 2023, Dortmund would be willing to settle for an asking price of no less than €30m, which is certainly within Man Utd’s budget for a new defender this summer.