Manuel Akanji has discussed Manchester City's style of play and how he expects to adapt to the Premier League following to move to the Etihad Stadium.
The Swiss centre-half joined the Blues from Borussia Dortmund in a move understood to be worth £15 million on the final day of the summer transfer window.
Amidst a minor personnel crisis in central defence for Pep Guardiola's side, the 27-year-old missed Manchester City's latest league outing against Aston Villa following the birth of his second child.
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However, making his debut in sky blue against Sevilla in City's Champions League group-stage opener, Akanji slotted seamlessly into proceedings as the Premier League champions claimed a stylish 4-0 win in Spain.
The Switzerland international’s excellent passing range and two-footedness in possession stood out in particular as he looked like an archetypal Pep Guardiola centre-half.
Snuffing out any potential danger at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium as well, Akanji looked the part in his first outing for the Sky Blues.
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In a recent interview with the Manchester Evening News, City's latest acquisition discussed his aspirations to fit into Pep Guardiola's style of play over time following an encouraging start to life at the Etihad Stadium.
“In the end, it's still football. I like to play this type of football and the players around me too. Before the (Sevilla) game, I was a little bit nervous but I felt really comfortable on the pitch, it just felt normal," Akanji said.
"I did what I always do and the guys around gave me an option to always play to. It turned out really good and I'm happy."
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Having spent four-and-a-half seasons at Dortmund, Akanji has already noticed how training under Guardiola is more intense and detailed than he witnessed during his time in Germany.
The defender added: "Here (at City), you will learn a lot in training because the intensity is so high that it makes it a lot harder. It's not like we are doing different exercises from Dortmund but the quality and intensity makes it so much higher.
“I'm not there at the level they (the rest of the City squad) are at but I try to learn every day and the coaches are telling me if I can improve on things. I'm here to learn and there are some things that are new to me with the system but I haven't had problems before with new coaches and new systems."
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Akanji is growing accustomed to City's way of beginning play right from Ederson, who plays the ball into the defence as play builds gradually from the back.
"As a defender, you're the closest one to the keeper so you're getting the ball and building the team up from the back to play the ball in the right places," Akanji said.
"That's really what Pep wants from us and also the other side I see a lot of details in training that I haven't really learned before - how you stand to the ball, how you block a shot and stuff like that. There are a lot of things that are coming on and I'm looking forward to improving every day."
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Akanji is keen on learning from the squad to find his feet and adjust to Guardiola's demands. He added: "I see the stuff other players are doing in training and I think I can improve and learn from them as well.
"Maybe they can see something from me too to learn from, I don’t know, but that’s why training is for and why the coaching staff is for – to improve us.”
On adapting to the demands of the Premier League, Akanji said: “It's really hard and that's how you can get used to the Premier League and everything. I will hopefully have my first Premier League game soon and will know more but I think that it is a lot faster than in Germany.”
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, UEFA, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, Pep Guardiola
Srinivas Sadhanand