Liverpool to battle Spurs and Manchester City for Ruben Dias

Liverpool will have to battle it out with both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City to secure the signing of Benfica’s Ruben Dias. (h/y Express)

The 22-year-old defender came through the youth ranks at Benfica before establishing himself as a regular in the first team. Dias has made 115 appearances for the Portuguese giants and has scored 10 goals since making his debut in 2017. (h/t Whoscored

The defender extended his contract until 2023 and has a release clause of £80million.

Tottenham have an ageing defensive core in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderwiereld. Mourinho needs to restructure his defence while Man City will look to strengthen following this season’s calamity at the back.

Liverpool have the strongest defence in the league over the past two seasons. Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk have formed an impenetrable wall at the back while Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren have performed with distinction when called upon.

Lovren, however, is likely to leave the club in the summer in search of first-team football. The Croatian’s departure should free up a spot in the defence but Liverpool spending anything close to £80 million for a back-up is unlikely.

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Signing Dias will further strengthen what is a rock-solid defence for the Reds. It is difficult to see the 22-year-old displacing either Gomez or Van Dijk and will need to settle for a peripheral role.

Dias has won 16 caps for the Portuguese national team. He played a crucial role as Portugal won the UEFA Nations League in 2019. Dias was the man of the match in the final and also made it to the team of the tournament.