Manchester City have sealed the signing of Benfica and Portugal defender Ruben Dias.
The initial fee for the centre back is £61 million. However, that fee will rise to £65 million which will depend on performance-based add ons.
Ruben Dias is a @ManCity player after completing a €71.6m move from Benfica. pic.twitter.com/vWTrEJBMJ8
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) September 27, 2020
This deal will also see Nicolas Otamendi go the opposite way in a deal worth £13.6 million.
Ruben Dias becomes the second centre back signed by Pep Guardiola during this window. The Spaniard had brought Nathan Ake to the Etihad earlier this window.
The signing could not have come at a better time with Man City conceding five goals in their defeat at home to Leicester City. With Aymeric Laporte still missing from the starting XI due to lack of fitness after testing positive for COVID-19, the City defence is left in tatters.
The Manchester City defence did not look comfortable at any point during yesterday’s game, and to give away three penalties is inexcusable.
The hope is that Dias will bring some much-needed stability to a defence that has crumbled since the loss of Vincent Kompany.
If Manchester City have any hope of closing the gap to Liverpool they will need to improve that defence. It remains to be seen if either Ake and Dias are the men to do that.
