Rio Ferdinand knows all about what it takes to be a top-level defender.
After making 503 top-flight appearances, the Englishman was inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame back in 2023, joining former Manchester City stars such as Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.
Now though, with numerous current Premier League players involved in the 2024 European Championship, the former Manchester United centre-back has highlighted one City player currently representing his country in Germany as being particularly impressive.
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Rio Ferdinand says Manuel Akanji is one of the Premier League’s top defenders
Speaking on BBC One’s TV coverage of the build-up to Switzerland’s knockout game against Italy, Ferdinand said this about Manuel Akanji.
He said: “Akanji is my favourite one. I think he’s got a great blend of the physical attributes you need, he’s rugged enough, he’s quick, he’s aggressive, his positioning is very, very astute.
“I think he doesn’t get spoken about when you talk about top defenders in the Premier League, I think he’s one of them. He can play anywhere across the back.
“He’s a wonderful player and I think gives other players the ability to play and get their heads up and do other things as well.”
Akanji has been a top signing for City
City paid £15m to sign Akanji from Borussia Dortmund back in 2022 and have since gone on to see the defender make 96 appearances for the club across all competitions.
Chipping in with five goals and one assist, the 28-year-old has won numerous trophies during his time with Pep Guardiola’s side.
Looking back over his previous Premier League campaign with the Blues, Akanji, who said back in May that he’s loved working with Guardiola, ended the season with the second-highest total of clearances (70) and third-highest number of successful tackles (28) in the City squad.
Now that one of the best defenders of the Premier League era has shared his praise for the City man and thinks that he doesn’t get the credit he deserves, this should hopefully start to see the Switzerland international get even more recognition.