As per The Daily Express, Liverpool are interested in Benfica defender Ruben Dias.
What’s the story?
The report details what Jose Mourinho’s and Tottenham’s transfer plans are for the summer, and Dias is mentioned as one of their targets.
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It then adds that both the Reds and Manchester City are targeting the centre-back, who has a €100m (£84.3m) release clause in his contract after signing a new contract last year.
Van Dijk replacement
For now and the immediate future, the Anfield outfit are set up at centre-back. Virgil van Dijk is arguably the best player in the world in that position – that is what last year’s Ballon d’Or rankings indicated anyway – whilst Joe Gomez has looked the part since stepping in alongside him. In the last nine Premier League matches, Liverpool have kept eight clean sheets, and have conceded just one goal.
However, whilst Gomez is just 22, van Dijk is already 28 and will be 29 by the start of next season. He still has plenty of football left in him, but he is edging towards the end of his playing days, and it is unlikely he will get any better.
Dias, meanwhile, is just 22, and he has already impressed enough to attract interest from a number of English football’s top clubs. The 6 foot 1 Portugal international has averaged 1.2 tackles and one interception per match this term, and has been dribbled past just 0.3 times per match. It is his ability on the ball that should attract Jurgen Klopp as well though. He has an average pass accuracy of 89.1% in the Portuguese top tier this term, which is better than both van Dijk (88.7%) and Gomez (88.8%) in the Premier League.
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Therefore, Dias is a signing that makes sense for Liverpool in the long-term, and he may be the man to eventually replace the Netherlands international. Those are big shoes to fill, of course, but signing him now will allow him to study the former Celtic man before stepping in at the right time to take over. As Klopp and Michael Edwards plan for the future, Dias could be a solid new arrival.
Meanwhile, this Liverpool man could seek an exit this summer.
