Manchester City‘s Ruben Dias has proven to be the signing of the season. The Portuguese defender joined the club last summer in a deal worth £61.2m from Benfica and has been credited with single-handedly improving Pep Guardiola’s backline.
His impact since arriving has even been compared to that of Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool – high praise indeed.
The 24-year-old has been named the FWA Footballer of the Year having beaten his teammate Kevin De Bruyne and Tottenham Hotspur‘s Harry Kane to the prize. Dias hit the ground running immediately after making his move to the Premier League and continues to go from strength to strength. Here’s a look at some of his standout displays and biggest moments throughout the Premier League season.
Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Leeds United at Elland Road back in November, but it could very easily have been a defeat for City had Dias not been in fine form.
After defending excellently against a relentless and intense second-half onslaught only a team coached by Marcelo Bielsa are capable of, Dias stood firm and his post-match comments in which he expressed disappointment at the result evidenced the incredibly high standards he sets himself.
Ruben Dias was partnered up with John Stones for the trip to Stamford Bridge in January. Following this performance, it became abundantly clear how much his ability to anticipate danger and the calmness he brings to the backline helps to bring the best out in those around him – even in a player who looked destined for the exit door like Stones.
Signs that City had added a world-class defender and a natural leader to their ranks were becoming clearer, regardless of who was playing alongside him.
Ruben Dias scored his only Premier League goal of the season so far during Manchester City’s 15 game winning run. The goal came in a 2-1 victory over West Ham at the Etihad Stadium, capping off the complete centre-back performance.
Having proved throughout the season he is formidable inside his own penalty area, he met a Kevin De Bruyne cross to make his mark in his opponent’s box – it’s a shame there weren’t any fans in the stadium to celebrate his first goal with.
Dias’ impact has meant City have been able to keep things tight at the back in a way they struggled to prior to his arrival. Therefore allowing them to rely on their attacking talent and regular dominance of possession to wear their opponent down.
Very few displays this season evidenced that more than the 2-0 win over Villa, in which the Portuguese international was outstanding at the back. The champions broke the deadlock just 11 minutes from time, with Dias’ dominance aerially and in the tackle proving key in keeping Villa at bay.
Ruben Dias marshalled City’s backline alongside Aymeric Laporte that day, ensuring Guardiola’s side kept a clean sheet at Leicester and taking another significant step towards the Premier League crown.
He put in an excellent individual display, providing the defensive stability and a platform for his teammates to wear down a very good Leicester City side and return north with all three points. The fact that the Foxes with plenty of attacking talent never really looked like scoring, again, evidenced the difference between City pre and post the signing of Dias.