Akanji Guides Stones in Inter's Defensive Transition
The Premier League teaches you how to run, fight and play at full throttle. Serie A asks different questions. Slower on the surface, but far more intricate. That’s the world John Stones has just walked into – and Manuel Akanji is waiting for him at the door.
Stones has already offered a glimpse of what he can bring, scoring in a pre-season friendly against Real Betis. The athleticism is there, as expected from a defender forged under Pep Guardiola. The challenge now is to bend that profile into Cristian Chivu’s structure and Inter’s very particular way of defending.
Akanji knows the drill because he has lived it.
“Physically, you come from the Premier League already very well-prepared. Tactically, however, it's different,” the Swiss defender told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I played with Stones at City in a back four, and I had to adapt. For me, it happened quite quickly, and I know John: he can do everything and he won't have any problems either. Obviously, he'll need help from his teammates and staff, but he's ended up in the right place.”
From a classic back four to Inter’s demanding, choreographed back line: the movements, the distances, the timing of when to jump out and when to hold – all of it changes. Akanji had to absorb that last year. Now, at 31, he is guiding a familiar face through the same maze.
A chance meeting in Ibiza, a reunion in Milan
This isn’t just a professional handover. It is personal.
The bond between Stones and Akanji was forged at Manchester City, where they dovetailed in a title-winning machine. That relationship has simply shifted to a new country, a new language and a new dressing room.
The way their reunion was foreshadowed could have been scripted.
“It was funny because just a few hours before his arrival was confirmed, my wife and I met his wife on the beach in Ibiza. Pure coincidence,” Akanji revealed. “We’re friends, and we’ve been on holidays together, and she told us: ‘I think we’ll end up coming…’ A few hours later, at home, I saw John’s message.”
From that moment, the roles were clear. Akanji the teammate, but also the guide.
“Now I’m trying to introduce him to Inter. I explain everything to him; I try to translate; the other day I even took him to a restaurant. But he’s a great lad; he’ll adapt quickly.”
So Stones doesn’t just have a familiar face in the dressing room. He has a translator in team meetings, a companion at dinner, and a reference point on the training pitch as he learns how to defend Italian-style.
Inter load up at the back for a Champions League push
While Stones settles in, Inter are quietly building one of the deepest defensive units in Europe.
Benjamin Pavard’s return from a loan spell at Marseille adds another layer of quality and versatility. It also ramps up the battle for minutes. For Akanji, that is not a problem to solve – it is the point.
“That’s exactly what we need to compete not only in Italy but also in the Champions League,” he said. “We have a formidable defence, among the best, and a great squad: in every position, there are at least two excellent players. Now we need to integrate the new players into the system, but the competition in training will be high, which will improve everyone.”
The message is clear: no guaranteed places, no comfort zones. Stones arrives into a back line where every session at Appiano Gentile feels like an audition. For a player used to the demands of City, that edge should feel familiar.
Inter, beaten and hardened by recent European campaigns, know the margins at Champions League level are tiny. Extra depth, sharper training, a cleaner understanding of Chivu’s system – this is where they believe the next step must come from.
New look, same hunger
Akanji has treated the summer not as a pause, but as a reset.
He has even changed his hairstyle, a small outward sign of a defender who insists he feels as sharp as ever heading into his thirties. Behind the cosmetic tweak lies a serious, methodical preparation.
“I don’t think it will take long to get back to 100%, because I was on holiday for three weeks and, as I normally do, I continued to train,” he explained. “Initially, I did a lot of running and gym work, and since my teammates returned from the tour, we’ve been working together on the pitch.”
The focus now is the Serie A opener against Monza. No easing in, no slow burn.
“Now I can’t wait to get serious with Monza: another season is a new beginning,” he concluded.
For Akanji, that new beginning comes with a familiar partner now by his side, in a very different league, chasing the same prize: turning Inter’s defensive strength into a platform for a genuine Champions League assault.
