Pep Guardiola has delivered his verdict on Manchester City's deadline signing of Manuel Akanji from Borussia Dortmund.
The Premier League champions announced the arrival of the Swiss centre-half on a five-year contract for a deal reported to be worth around £15 million.
Injuries have been piling at the back for Pep Guardiola since the start of the season, with John Stones missing City's opening league games against West Ham and Bournemouth.
Advert
Aymeric Laporte recently underwent surgery after playing through pain in his knee to help Manchester City retain the league title last season.
The Spain international is not expected to return to action until the end of the month at the very least, as per the latest reports in England.
Stones returned to the lineup for City's 3-3 draw with Newcastle a few weeks ago but Nathan Ake was hauled off and replaced by Ruben Dias in the first half as the Blues dropped their first point of the season.
Advert
Ake was heavily linked with a potential switch to Chelsea in the transfer window and was believed to be open to swapping the Etihad Stadium for Stamford Bridge.
Since he joined City from Bournemouth, the Dutch centre-half has largely been behind Dias, Laporte and Stones in the pecking order but showcased his importance by filling in at the heart of defence at key moments of the previous campaign.
As Manchester City strive to challenge on all fronts ahead of a testing schedule, the six-time Premier League champions decided to bolster their backline by adding Manuel Akanji to their ranks late on in the window.
Advert
Previewing City's upcoming league meeting with Aston Villa this weekend, Pep Guardiola was quizzed about his thoughts on Akanji and what he can bring to the squad.
The Catalan said: "We had an opportunity to bring a player (Manuel Akanji) with one year left on his contract, incredibly experienced. (Akanji is) perfect for what we need, fact, good in the build-up. We felt it against Dortmund - pleased he's here.
"We had incredible four centre-backs, at the same time, Aymer (Laporte) had a tough injury, he's getting better but still one month or a half, Nathan (Ake) had some concerns with muscle problems. We couldn't live with just two centre-backs with this schedule."
Advert
It remains to be seen whether Akanji will be involved against Villa on Saturday as City look to keep the pressure mounting on league leaders Arsenal.
City maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign with a 6-0 rout of Nottingham Forest in midweek as Erling Haaland scored his second hat-trick in as many games.
Julian Alvarez was also handed his first competitive start in City colours against the Reds since joining from River Plate in the summer.
Advert
The Argentine did not disappoint as he bagged his first Premier League goals lining up alongside Haaland and Phil Foden in attack on a thrilling evening for the Manchester City faithful.
Topics: Manchester City, Premier League, Manchester City Transfer News & Rumours, Transfers, Pep Guardiola, Aston Villa, Football
Vayam Lahoti