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
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