Manuel Akanji has given his two cents on how he plans to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s habit of chopping and changing his Manchester City lineup.
The 27-year-old completed a reported £15 million switch to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day.
Akanji missed Manchester City's most recent league outing against Aston Villa following the birth of his second child - days after penning a five-year deal with the Premier League champions.
However, the Switzerland international starred on his debut as City made a strong start to their Champions League campaign with a 4-0 thrashing of Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium last week.
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Whilst City's most recent defensive addition will be demanded to adapt to the trials and tribulations that come with playing for Pep Guardiola, one of his biggest challenges that lie ahead for the centre-half is getting accustomed to the Catalan's rotation policy.
With Ruben Dias, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake all competing with Akanji in central defence, Guardiola is expected to make full use of the stellar options at his disposal as Manchester City challenge on all fronts again this season.
Since 2016, the fierce competition for places combined with Guardiola’s habit of tinkering his lineup has taken new arrivals nearly a full season to adjust to life at the Etihad Stadium.
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In a recent interview with the Manchester Evening News, Manuel Akanji discussed how plans to acclimatise to Guardiola's methods and the strong competition for minutes in the squad.
“They told me that we don't have a number one, two, three, four or five choice - we're all players in that position and the guys who train best and play the best are going to play," Akanji said, as quoted by Simon Bajkowski.
"Obviously, (Pep) Guardiola will make changes because if he plays the same team every game, there will be problems because your body just can't do it."
Whilst knowing he may not feature every week from the off, Akanji is determined to prove his talents in training and when he does get called upon by Guardiola over the course of the campaign.
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He added: "I think it's clear to most of the guys that you're not going to play every game, but the goal for every player is to be on the pitch in every game so that's what we try to do in every training session and every game.
"I don't think I have to switch mentally because I'm trying to do my best every day. In the end, one a day maybe I can say I did enough but another one has a chance.”
Akanji went on to admit he knew the challenge he was undertaking when he decided to join a star-studded Manchester City side who won a fourth Premier League title in five seasons in May.
“I knew the situation at Man City," the defender said. "I watch a lot of their games over the last few years and I knew they already have world-class players all around the team. I think I'm ready for the challenge.
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"It might not be easy and I can't expect to play every game but we have so many games coming up and we have injuries, suspensions, whatever but I'm trying to show the coach in every training session that I want to play. That is my goal.”
With City set to enter a demanding schedule in the middle of a World Cup campaign, the games will come thick and fast for the Blues, who will need fresh legs every three days to compete in four different competitions.
Akanji said: “I also know that I have a lot more games here than I had in Dortmund. There are four more Premier League games, there is one more cup so there will be more games and the games are harder to play in.
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"At some point, something will happen that I can't play in the next game and that's a thing because we have so many centre-backs we can switch them out."
The Swiss centre-half understands that Guardiola will shuffle his pack across the pitch and with the quality of players boasted by City from defence to attack, every member of the squad will get their shot to impress.
"The players up front don't play every game either even though they are capable of it because Guardiola changes it," Akanji added.
"That's the thing at Manchester City, when you have so many good players and are playing in so many competitions it's hard to go every game.”
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund, UEFA, Champions League, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Sevilla, Aston Villa
