Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has now named which Chelsea player he is a big admirer of.
He told The Official Manchester City podcast that it is a player at Stamford Bridge who he would love to feature alongside in his dream side.
Many would think any current City player would select Cole Palmer if they had to pick a Chelsea player to play with.
Cole Palmer starring since he joined Chelsea
The England international left the Etihad Stadium last summer and became the last player to permanently make the move to Stamford Bridge up to now.
He has clearly been the best addition the club have made since new owner Todd Boehly took over, with him currently top of the goalscoring charts in the Premier League.
His four goals against Everton on Monday night saw him reach that mark, however it is another player who was playing that day who Akanji has stated that he would play alongside, with him selecting Thiago Silva.
Manuel Akanji praises Thiago Silva
He said: “I might say Thiago Silva. I’m still a big fan of him, he’s still at a high level and around the time when he was at AC Milan, he was one of my favourite centre-backs to play at the time.
“Sergio Ramos was also probably one of the greatest centre-backs that ever played but if I had to pick one, I would probably say Thiago Silva.”
Silva spent a prolonged period of time on the bench in 2024, despite the fact that he returned from injury a fair while ago.
With his contract set to expire at the end of this season, there is reportedly no intentions at this stage to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge.
If he does leave at the end of the campaign, it will bring to an end a superb period of his career where many will have assumed he would have had very little to give.
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