Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has told the Manchester Evening News that he thinks Ruben Dias is ‘absolutely’ comparable to Virgil van Dijk.
City needed a new centre back over the summer, and decided to splash the cash on luring Dias away from Benfica.
Dias cost a huge £65million fee, and some felt that was something of a gamble as City invested more huge money in their defence.
So far though, Dias has been a star. He has emerged as one of the Premier League’s top centre backs whilst completely revolutionising City.
Guardiola’s men have now kept 10 clean sheets in their last 12 Premier League games, conceding just two goals in that staggering run.
Dias has been key to that turnaround, and some have compared his colossal displays and inspirational impact to the way Virgil van Dijk changed Liverpool in 2018.
Van Dijk has enjoyed a trophy-laden time at Liverpool, so Dias has some way to go before reaching that point, but Guardiola has admitted that the comparison is ‘absolutely’ valid.
Guardiola raved about Dias and his mentality, feeling that he has made himself undroppable – just like Van Dijk did at Liverpool before his major injury.
“Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely,” said Guardiola. “So far, how he’s settled immediately, in terms of mentality and he’s a guy who lives 24 hours for his profession. Every step he does, at home, on or off the pitch, eating, sleeping, recovering time, preparation time, everything is to be perfect during this 95-minute football game. That’s why. It depends on him to maintain and hopefully we can help him to grow. We are more than satisfied.”
“He’s not just a player who plays good, he’s a player who makes the other guys play good too. It’s 90 minutes talking, 90 minutes communicating, 90 minutes leading, 90 minutes saying what they have to do in every single action. When that happens, it’s difficult for me because he is undroppable,” he added.
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