The manner in which the 2019/20 season panned out for Manchester City made it clear what they needed this summer.
The injury suffered by Aymeric Laporte early in the campaign exposed Pep Guardiola’s defensive frailties, handicapping them in their ultimately unsuccessful defence of the Premier League title.
It was therefore unsurprising when City moved quickly to sign Nathan Ake from relegated Bournemouth. However, the Dutchman is widely seen as a deputy for Laporte, a fellow left-footed, rather than a central defensive partner for him.
This led to much speculation over a move for another centre back to play alongside Laporte.
By all counts, Kalidou Koulibaly was Manchester City’s number one target, pursuing the Napoli defender for much of the summer.
However, when the Serie A club refused to budge in their valuation of the player, City were forced to look elsewhere and made a bid for Sevilla’s Jules Kounde before finally settling on Benfica’s Ruben Dias as their latest mega-money defensive addition.
Of course, it’s common practice for clubs at the elite level of football to have a shortlist of potential targets when strengthening a specific position.
The recruitment division at the Etihad Stadium is one of the most comprehensive and in-depth in the game and so Dias is a player they will have scouted and assessed meticulously before making a move.
Nonetheless, the Portuguese international wasn’t City’s first choice, so are they making a mistake by paying £65million (as has been reported to be the fee) for him?
And would they have been better served waiting until their favoured target becomes available further down the line?
This is what Liverpool did with Virgil Van Dijk.
Jurgen Klopp was so certain the Dutchman was the steadying presence his defence needed that the Anfield club bided their time to sign him from Southampton.
They did similar with Alisson too, persevering with Loris Karius as their first choice goalkeeper until they were in a position to sign the perfect replacement.
Liverpool were rewarded for holding their nerve in the transfer market, with both Alisson and van Dijk slotting seamlessly into their back-line.
What was once a weakness became a strength, with Klopp’s side conceding fewer goals (33) than any other team in the Premier League last season.
The shrewd addition of Andy Robertson from Hull City and emergence of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez were also significant factors in the solidification of Liverpool as a defensive unit, but when the Reds have had to spend big they first made sure they had identified the right player.
Are City moving for Dias because he’s the right player or because they need a player like him?
City require some clear thinking in the transfer market if they are to catch Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.
The signing of Dias means more than £400million has now been spent on defenders over the course of the Guardiola era, with the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich chief burning through centre-backs and full-backs like nobody else in the European game.
The defensive turnover at the Etihad Stadium of late has been astonishing.
Whether it’s the scouting or the coaching, something has gone badly wrong in the way City have attempted to give Guardiola a solid defensive basis over the last four years.
Dias might be exactly the player they need to ensure the problems of last season don’t arise again, but if Liverpool have set the precedent on how to address a problem area City are heading in a different direction.
