With more than a month left before the 2025/2026 season begins, Manchester City have a lot of thinking to do about the state of their squad after exiting the FIFA Club World Cup.
Pep Guardiola could make more signings after the competition and based on City’s 4-3 defeat against Al-Hilal, he might have no option but to advise the decision-makers at the Etihad Stadium to dip into the transfer market.
While defending champions Liverpool as well as Arsenal, who are yet to win the Premier League title have more pressure on their shoulders to reign supreme in the English top-flight, Manchester City cannot afford to stand still ahead of next season.
However, the Daily Mail have now reported that Hugo Viana will be focusing on the Sky Blues’ potential outgoings as the primary focus is trimming down their bloated squad.
Man City should wait before extending Ruben Dias’ contract
Furthermore, the report mentions that Ruben Dias and Rico Lewis are two players whose contract extensions are being prioritised by Manchester City.
Dias’ contract at Manchester City expires in 2027 and considering he is a part of their four-man leadership group while having been one of the club’s best players for years, keeping him for the long haul is understandably a priority.
Ruben Dias, Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol and Rayan Ait-Nouri during Manchester City v Al-Hilal
Photo by Elsa – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
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However, City should put sentiment aside and wait before extending the Portuguese international’s contract as last season, he underwhelmed for large parts of the campaign.
While Dias was injured during various parts of the seasons and remains a top-class defender, how he fares aerially and defending in a high line have become quite suspect since the previous campaign, making uncharacteristic errors for a while.
Dias struggled against Al-Hilal’s direct approach, as they went long time and time again as he even failed to mark Kalidou Koulibaly in the build-up to the former Napoli centre-back’s headed goal.
Even during Manchester City’s 3-1 defeat against Real Madrid, the 28-year-old misjudged Raul Asencio’s long ball and gave Kylian Mbappe a free run at opening the scoring for the hosts.
While against Aston Villa, it seemed like Unai Emery targeted the former Benfica defender by launching long balls in Marcus Rashford’s path, who caused the four-time Premier League winner plenty of problems.
Off the back of their most disappointing season in years, Manchester City should assess £65 million man Dias’ displays during the following campaign before determining where he merits a new contract.
How Ruben Dias privately feels about his future
Dias is open to extending his contract at Manchester City.
Initially, contract talks were put on hold between City and the defender as their primary focus was sealing the deal to keep Erling Haaland at the Etihad Stadium until 2034.
Furthermore, Manchester City also shifted their attention towards bringing in fresh faces last winter but now, it seems they will try and tie Dias down to a brand-new contract beyond 2027.