Manchester United had the chance to sign Ruben Dias before his transfer to rivals City
A report by Portuguese outlet O Jogo (h/t Express) states that Manchester United scouted and tabled an offer for Ruben Dias almost a year ago before his transfer to Manchester City.
The Red Devils apparently had their offer rejected for the SL Benfica centre-back. President Luis Filipe Vieira was adamant to not let go of Dias for a transfer fee lesser than his £57.8million release clause.
The deal, of course, fell through, and United opted to sign Leicester City defender Harry Maguire for £80million. Dias went on to join rivals City a year later in the summer of 2020.
Since then, he has formed a formidable centre-back pairing in the heart of the City defence alongside John Stones. He has been so impressive that even Aymeric Laporte is struggling for game time at the club.
Dias in, Maguire out?
City have a 5-point lead at the top of the Premier League table with a game still in hand. While their attack has been good, their form is largely down to their stellar defence.
City have the best defence in the league by far, conceding just 14 goals in their 22 league games so far. As compared to them, United have let in an eye-watering 30 goals in 22 matches.
Their shaky defence was on display again last weekend, as the club squandered two points against Everton. Harry Maguire played Everton’s attacking line onside which allowed the Toffees to grab an equaliser.
That 3-3 result saw United drop off in the title race, as City expanded their lead at the top following a 4-1 demolition of Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
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- Manchester United to wait until the summer before making a decision on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- Jamie Carragher expresses sympathy for Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire
Fans can only wonder what would have happened had United signed Dias and Pep Guardiola signed Maguire, a player that the Spaniard could not sign in 2019 due to lack of funds. (h/t Express)
