Manchester City have agreed a £65m deal to sign defender Ruben Dias, Benfica have announced, with Nicolas Otamendi moving in the opposite direction.
Still trying to fill the glaring void left by long-serving captain Vincent Kompany in 2019, and reeling after a stunning 5-2 Premier League drubbing at the hands of Leicester City, Manchester City have turned to the Portugal international .
Benfica centre-back Dias will cost City an initial £62million (€68m), plus £2.1m (€3.6m) in add-ons should the 23-year-old trigger various performance-related clauses.
Sunday’s announcement, with Nicolas Otamendi, set to move in the opposite direction, takes Guardiola’s spending as City manager on defenders to in excess of £410m (€451m) since 2016.
While City have won two Premier League titles under Guardiola, the team’s defence remains an Achilles heel, especially in pursuit of European glory.