Micah Richards has delivered his verdict on Manchester City's club record new signing Ruben Dias.
The 23-year-old defender joined City from Benfica this week in a deal that could be worth £65million.
The Portugal international went straight into Pep Guardiola's starting line-up for Saturday's Premier League clash with Leeds United at Elland Road.
Ahead of the game, former City man Richards told Sky Sports: “I heard some quotes that he was going to replace Vincent Kompany, which I thought was absolutely ridiculous because they’re putting too much pressure on a boy’s shoulders who is just 23.
"We know of his quality and we know that it’s a position that needs to be improved but we don’t want to put too much pressure on him to start with.
"He’s a very good passer of the ball, I watched some clips on the internet and he played a lot on the left-hand side.
"I thought, ‘What’s happening here? We’ve got (Nathan) Ake, (Aymeric) Laporte' - but for Benfica he could play on the right-hand side as well.
"He looks to read it, anticipation, gets tight to stop the counter-attacks.
"He just looks like a Manchester City player with the way they want to play, but what I like about him as well, he looks aggressive.
"If he can bring leadership to the side, it’s certainly what they need, what they’ve been missing.
"I feel a little bit sorry for John Stones. I feel like every mistake he makes is scrutinised, so he’s got a lot of pressure on his shoulders.”
Fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp added: “You’re looking for a partnership. Today, hopefully we’re going to get a glimpse of the future for Man City.
"Alongside Laporte, it has the makings of a very good partnership.
"If you look at the left-hand side, which is where Laporte will play and you’ll see Ruben Dias on the right.
"He’s a great passer of the ball, but that’s not really what I want from this guy, I want him to be able to defend, and do all the basics which a lot of the Man City defenders struggle with.
"If he can do that, then he’ll be a really good signing. I’ve seen him play a lot, at times, he tries to win the ball but you have to be so careful in and around the box because you give away penalties.
"If he does it right, he could be a leader of this team.”
