Knee-jerk reaction?

 Manchester City has signed Benfica defender Ruben Dias for 68 million Euros.

The move comes just hours after the Blues embarrassing 5-2 defeat to Leicester City.

The defense has been the Achilles heel for a while and that showed on Sunday.

As part of the deal, City will send Argentina defender Nicolas Otamendi to Benfica in a separate transfer worth a reported €15 million.

Otamendi made 210 appearances for City, scoring 11 goals and he departs a two-time Premier League champion, with four League Cup medals to his name and having lifted the FA Cup in 2019.

What he brings to the table

 The 23-year-old made 137 appearances for Benfica over the past four years, helping the team win the league title in 2018-19.

He’s got 19 caps for Portugal helping them win the UEFA Nations League trophy last year.

In 2017-18 he was voted the Primera Liga’s Young Player of the Year Award.

Dias led the Primera last season in passes completed, forward passes, and passes in the final third.

He also had 105 possessions won last season in the defensive third.

Spending Spree

 Dias is the latest of the many defenders that Pep Guardiola has signed in his City tenure.

Nathan Aké who signed last month for around $50 million has been over-zealous in his early days with the club.

Joao Cancelo, John Stones, Benjamin Mendy, Danilo have all shown inconsistencies.

You can probably add Otamendi to that list as he struggled in five-years with the club.

Frenchman Aymeric Laporte has shown poise since arriving at City.

He’s still trying to get back to form since his positive COVID test.

In the past four years including Dias, City has spent £500 million on defenders.

He’s the fifth signing this off-season for the Citizens.

Aké, Pablo Moreno, Ferran Torres, and Scott Carson are the others.

Missing Piece

 In a season where Guardiola is aiming to “deserve a new deal” the hope is Dias is the missing piece, the Spaniard’s been looking for.

This move seemed imminent after City wouldn’t pay Napoli’s asking price for Kalidou Koulibaly or Atletico’s Jose Gimenez.

He will wear the number 3 shirt for the Blues. (JSL)