Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be crossing fingers and toes that Ruben Dias is really the right man to step up his leaky defense after his side conceded five goals against Leicester City – especially if he is only second choice was.
An embarrassing gaffe on the Manchester City website suggests Guardiola’s best recruit in the background was Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly.
City was closely tied to Koulibaly through much of the transfer window before Benfica’s Dias was recruited for € 68m (£ 62million; A $ 112million) plus an additional € 3.6million ($ 6 million) in potential bonuses while Nicolas Otamendi, on the contrary, took direction for 15 million euros.
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However, it appears that Manchester City has prepared for Koulibaly’s signature at least once. The club’s official website urged its own fans to send questions to the center-back in an article revealing Dias’s jersey number.
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The article was quickly changed, but the question arises: was Koulibaly Guardiola’s first choice or is there any more transfer news?
After Dias signed it, respected football journalist Fabrizo Romano reported that the Portuguese star’s recruitment meant City would no longer pursue other center-backs.
Manchester City will * not * sign another central defender after Rubén Dias [signed, confirmed, official]. Napoli and Seville were told of #MCFC Board that Koulibaly and Koundé deals are off. Giménez wasn’t a serious option – Atléti always asked for 120 million euros. ???? #transfers
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 28, 2020
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