4 hours ago
22
One down, two to go? Ruben Dias's new deal to extend his stay at Manchester City is the first piece of the jigsaw for Hugo Viana when it comes to sorting out contracts for a trio of senior players who have entered the final two years of their current deals.
Dias, Rodri, and Phil Foden all have contracts expiring in June 2027, and getting new deals for all three would have been a priority for director of football Viana, who took over the reins from Txiki Begiristain this summer.
Some renewals will certainly be easier than others but, generally, clubs see a greater sense of urgency to finalise contracts when players reach their final two years. There isn't much of an attraction to walking away from City, but then nobody at Liverpool would have expected Trent Alexander-Arnold to leave when he still had just under two years left on his Anfield deal.
The closer it gets to contracts expiring, the more alert clubs can be to market opportunities, and Real Madrid have become the masters at exploiting such situations. There are plenty of players at the Etihad that the decision makers at the Bernabeu would love to try and entice away.
Dias' commitment to City for a further two years has extended the length of his contract to four more seasons, with the option of another year as well. That would take him to a decade of service, and at the age of 28, it seems inevitable he will eventually become club captain, perhaps as soon as next summer.
Viana will now turn his attention to new deals for Rodri and Foden, although both could be a little trickier to sort than Dias, for various reasons. There seems little chance of Foden leaving, but by his own admission, he struggled last season, off the pitch as well as on it. It would be understandable if all parties wanted to take the pressure off the 25-year-old to try and give him room to rediscover his best form.
In Rodri's case, he is coming back from a serious knee injury, and it is never a guarantee that players will find the same level after an ACL problem. The Spaniard has had a couple of false starts on his return and is now 29, so City will want to see him hitting the heights that took him to the Ballon d'Or.
Rodri will have just turned 31 by the time his current deal expires, so any extension has to take that into account. An obvious issue for City is that Real have started to make their own interest in signing the Spaniard clear. The longer it goes without a new deal being agreed, the more interested Real might become.
That might make a new contract for Rodri the most delicate issue for Viana. City will want to wait a little longer, but they will also be aware of the risks associated with that.
The ease and smoothness with which a new deal was penned by Dias will be encouraging, however. If Viana can repeat that, then City will have the nucleus of the squad tied down for the long term.
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