A chance meeting on the beach in Ibiza just a few hours before the official announcement. Manuel Akanji told La Gazzetta dello Sport a curious behind-the-scenes story about the arrival of John Stones at Inter, his former teammate from his time at Manchester City.
The Swiss defender explained how he found out about the English centre-back’s transfer: “It was funny because, on the very day his arrival was confirmed, just a few hours earlier my wife and I met his wife on the beach in Ibiza. Pure coincidence. We’re friends and have vacationed together, and she told us: ‘I think in the end we’ll come…’. Then, a few hours later, at home I saw John’s message.”
Akanji said he was happy for Stones’ first goal scored in Bari: “I’m really happy for him, and by the way, Betis is a great team. Now he has to do it again in the next match, it can’t end here…”
The 32-year-old Englishman is experiencing his first days in Milan with the help of his Swiss teammate: “Now I’m trying to help him get to know Inter. I explain everything to him, try to translate, the other day I even took him to a restaurant. But he’s a great guy, he’ll adapt quickly.”
On the subject of tactical adaptation from the Premier League to Serie A, Akanji highlighted the differences: “Physically, coming from the Premier League you’re already very well prepared. Tactically, though, it’s different. With Stones, at City, I played in a back four and had to adapt. For me, it happened fairly quickly and I know John: he can do everything and he won’t have any problems either. Of course, he’ll need help from his teammates and the staff, but he’s ended up in the right place.”
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