Manchester City 'On The Verge' Of Signing Centre-Back For €65 Million

Manchester City are reportedly close to agreeing a deal for Benfica centre-back Ruben Dias.

Having looked at Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly and Jules Kounde of Sevilla, and even been linked with a big-money move for Atletico Madrid defender Jose Gimenez, widespread reports in Portugal say City are on the verge of snapping up the Portugal international for a fee between €60 million and €65 million.

It's reported out of favour centre-back Nicolas Otamendi will be used as a makeweight, heading in the opposite direction as part of the deal.

After failing to find a suitable replacement for long-time captain Vincent Kompany, Pep Guardiola had been hellbent on drafting in another centre-back ever since they decided not to cough up £80 million for Harry Maguire in the summer of 2019.

23-year old Dias, with over 100 Benfica appearances under his belt, has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League in recent times.

If City are able to get the deal done and secure their target, he will become their third signing of the transfer window following the £40 million capture of Nathan Ake from Bournemouth and the £20.8 million deal that took promising Spanish prospect Ferran Torres from Valencia.

Topics: Manchester City, Football News, Football, Ruben Dias, Benfica

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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