Manuel Akanji set to join Borussia Dortmund on record €22 million

FC Basel central defender Manuel Akanji, whose father is Nigerian, is close to joining top German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund for a record transfer fee of 21.5 million Euros, according to various media reports.

Dortmund will beat top Premier League clubs Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur after they offered more cash.


Akanji will thus become the third most expensive signing from Switzerland after Arsenal splashed out 45 million for Euros Granit Xhaka and Schalke 04 forked out 22.5 million for Breel Embolo in July 2016.

According to Sportsbild, Akanji, who cost Basel about a million Euros in the summer of 2015, has shone in the UEFA Champions League with his quickness in the heart of the defence.

Basel will face Manchester City in the knockout stage of the Champions League next month.

Akanji could have played for the Super Eagles through his father, but he could well be at the World Cup in Russia with Switzerland this summer.

He has kept a clean sheet in the four caps he has won with Switzerland after his debut on June 9 against Faroe Islands.