Manchester City linked with Portuguese international, a good move?

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Kolkata, June 25: The latest grapevine in England is that Manchester City have scouted Benfica defender Ruben Dias throughout this season and it is rumoured that the Cityzens are ready to make an offer for the 23-year-old once the transfer window opens.

It has been pretty evident this season that Pep Guardiola's side desperately need to strengthen their backline.

Aymeric Laporte has missed a significant part of this season with injuries and that is one of the biggest reasons why the Cityzens are way behind Liverpool in the table.

Guardiola made a big mistake by not replacing departing Vincent Kompany last summer and both Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones have struggled this season.

With someone like Dias, Manchester City could ideally shore up their leaky defence and once again compete with Liverpool next campaign.

Here, we will look at why Dias would be a perfect signing for City.

Brilliant defender

An excellent reader of the game, Dias relies more on his intelligence and tactical awareness than his physicality. And, it is evident from his numbers. The Portuguese international has made 1 interceptions per game this season while averaging 1.4 tackles and 2.1 clearances per game.

Leadership

Dias would provide Manchester City exactly the leadership they need at the heart of the defence. Laporte might be one of the best defenders in the world right now but he is not particularly a good communicator. The Frenchman can create a formidable partnership with the 23-year-old at the heart of the defence and with that, they can make up for the lost ground to Liverpool.

Very young

Dias is just 23 and for his age, he is quite experienced with 128 senior appearances to Benfica to his name. He has also become a mainstay in the Portuguese senior team over the last couple of years and has already earned 17 senior caps. Even if the Cityzens need to splash £60 million to sign the young defender, it would still be a smart investment by them for many years to come.