Following an impressive 3-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers in their first game of the season, Manchester City have now turned their attention towards securing a centre-back and, in particular, Benfica’s Rúben Dias.
According to Fabrizio Romano, City have begun talks with Benfica to sign the centre-back in a deal which includes Nicolas Otamendi to take the total value of the transfer to £55 million.
The talks began following City’s reported failure to persuade Sevilla to accept an offer of the same value for Jules Koundé.
Manchester City in Talks to Sign Dias
Centre-Back the Priority
Throughout the entirety of the summer transfer window, improving the defence has been Manchester City’s main priority. They signed Nathan Ake from Bournemouth earlier in the window to add much-needed adequate cover for the position.
Yet, still, despite Ake’s arrivals, City continued to search the market for a defender. Reports continued to link the Manchester club with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly throughout the summer before a move seemingly stalled due to City’s poor relationship with Napoli and their failure to match the asking price.
Now, though, with a bid for Koundé reportedly rejected, Rúben Dias looks more likely than ever to become a Manchester City player and put an end to their hunt for a suitable defender.
Injury Woes at Manchester City
Going into the Wolves game last week, the Manchester City squad looked as bare as ever after several injury concerns arose. In the end, it was John Stones and Nathan Ake who got the call to take up the centre-back roles. But Pep Guardiola will know this partnership is not a Premier League-winning one.
By bringing Dias in, Guardiola should have himself a trustworthy and capable centre-back to prevent the leak of goals in the Manchester City back four alongside the returning Aymeric Laporte.
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