Tottenham and Crystal Palace are competing for Akanji; Manchester City is willing to sell him with a market value of €28 million, while AC Milan is out of the running.

Tottenham began last season well, but injuries to key center-backs Romero and Vandewijn, as well as backup Dragusin, led to their disappointing Premier League results. Luckily, Romero and Vandewijn came back towards the end, aiding the team in securing the Europa League title and Champions League qualification. With new coach Flick achieving two consecutive Premier League wins without conceding, Tottenham is eager to strengthen the squad further by signing a rotational center-back. Flick has already experimented with a three-center-back formation in the UEFA Super Cup.

According to the latest from talkSPORT, Tottenham is interested in Manchester City's 30-year-old Swiss defender Akanji but will face competition mainly from another London club, Crystal Palace. Akanji prefers to stay in the Premier League, which effectively rules out AC Milan, as Serie A clubs struggle to compete with Premier League teams.

Crystal Palace lost Eze, and their manager Guus Hiddink does not want to lose more key players. However, Guehi, a 25-year-old English defender, has only one year left on his contract and has clearly decided not to renew. Liverpool is working to sign Guehi before the summer window closes, making this Palace’s last chance to sell him; otherwise, he will leave on a free transfer next summer. Therefore, Palace is competing with Tottenham for Akanji to prevent losing Guehi, but Tottenham is more appealing. Flick has rapidly improved Tottenham’s strength, and they will play in the Champions League this season. Manchester City is willing to sell Akanji, who has become a fringe player this season with zero appearances so far. Moving to Tottenham would be a good option for the 30-year-old Swiss defender. Akanji’s current market value on Transfermarkt is €28 million, so the transfer fee is not an issue; the only concern is his salary, as he earns £180,000 per week at City and has two years left on his contract.