Manchester City and Benfica have reportedly entered into talks for highly-rated centre-back Ruben Dias who the Portuguese club value at £50m, the potential deal could also include current City defender Nicolas Otamendi going the other way.
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Dias, 23, joined Benfica’s youth system back in 2008 and has since gone onto feature in 136 matches in all competitions for the club’s senior first-team and has even managed to be directly involved in an impressive 17 goals.
According to Sky Sports Pep Guardiola’s City have opened talks with Benfica regarding a possible cash plus Otamendi deal for Dias.
It is understood that Benfica value their star-defender at around £50m but could be tempted to lower their initial asking price should they agree to take out-of-favour Otamendi off of City’s hands too.
City had been strongly linked with a move for Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly but talks for the 29-year-old defender were virtually impossible to navigate due to the club’s damaged relationship dating back to when Jorginho joined Chelsea in 2018, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Man City are not directly in talks with Napoli for Koulibaly. The two clubs have bad relationship after Jorginho deal agreed then hijacked by Chelsea in 2018.
The agent of Koulibaly is working on it for the two clubs. That’s why the negotiation is so slow – and not easy ? #MCFC— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 27, 2020
Despite City’s long pursuit for a new centre-back to partner alongside new signing Nathan Ake, Guardiola’s side looks to have finally made some progress in the form of Dias.
Would you be happy with Dias, City fans? – Let us know in the comments.