Manchester United have been linked with a move for Portuguese centre-back Ruben Dias, who plays for Benfica.
The 21-year-old has a release clause of £51 million, and Manchester United have to trigger his clause for him to leave the club. Serie A champions Juventus are also rumoured to be interested in the signing of Dias.
As per Portuguese outlet Record, Manchester United have already had discussions with Benfica for the signature of Dias.
Dias was thrown into the first team after just 4 appearances in the U-21 set-up at Benfica, and he has excelled so far, winning the Young Player of the Year award for 2018.
The defender has represented the Portuguese national team 9 times since debuting in 2018 and was even part of Portugal’s 2018 World Cup squad, although he did not play any match.
Ruben Dias’ arrival would herald a defensive rebuild
Manchester United have spent over £100 million to buy centre backs over the last few seasons, but no one has offered the stability or leadership that is required of a Manchester United centre back. Phil Jones and Chris Smalling signed new contracts last year, and it seems that they may not leave the club anytime soon.
The Red Devils have fallen way off the pace in the Premier League and haven’t quite recovered since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club back in 2013. One of the biggest reasons for the Red Devils’ downfall has been their defence, which has been nowhere close to the iconic Manchester United defences of the past.
Dias’ assets are his ability to play the ball out from the back and his tackling prowess, two traits that the Manchester United defence sorely needs.
The 21-year old impressed in the Europa League, averaging 2.7 tackles a game, which proves that he isn’t just a good player in the Liga NOS.
Current Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a tough task at hand to take United back to the top. The Red Devils manager will have to recruit well in the summer, and the central defence has to be a top priority as the current central defenders, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo have not been able to form a formidable partnership.
Stats via Whoscored