Wolverhampton Wanderers were perennially linked with Portugal colossus Ruben Dias prior to his move to Premier League rivals Manchester City, and he already looks to be another one that's got away...

What was the word?

Last summer, the 23-year-old was thought to be one of Nuno Santo's top transfer targets but in the week before deadline day, the Express & Star revealed that the Midlands outfit had 'called off' their pursuit despite the player being keen on a move to Molineux.

These reports resurfaced ahead of the winter window with Portuguese outlet O Jogo (via Sport Witness) claiming both Manchester clubs would battle Wolves for his signature.

And indeed, Pep Guardiola's City side sanctioned a record £64.3m deal to sign Dias last month.

One that got away?

ruben-dias-vs-leeds

The former Benfica man has already proven to be worth every penny, helping the side to two clean sheets in his five appearances.

Per WhoScored, Dias has averaged 3.7 clearances, three aerial duels won, one block and one interception per game in the Premier League, also notching a cool 92.4% passing accuracy from an average of 74.3 attempts each match.

It means he has managed more clearances than Wolves skipper Conor Coady and makeshift defender Romain Saiss whilst not even Joao Mourinho or Ruben Neves can match his impressive figures with the ball at his feet.

As a member of Portugal's UEFA Nations League-winning squad, Dias would have been exactly what Nuno needed to elevate his squad onto the next level, especially after missing out on European qualification.

On Tuesday night, he played a starring role as City defeated Marseille 3-0 in the Champions League, once again displaying his credentials at the very top. He managed two clearances and two interceptions as well as making 97 of 98 passes from 107 touches of the ball, per SofaScore.

Dias' performance drew high praise from Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport (via the Daily Mail), he said: "[Tonight] they were still solid, whenever they got into dangerous areas, they got back into the rhythm of playing attacking football, controlling the game."

Whilst the £45m-rated star's former international teammate Jose Fonte, formerly of Southampton, has also waxed lyrical in the past, adding:

“Ruben is one of my favourite young centre-backs. He’s only 23, but he shows great maturity. It’s a great acquisition for Manchester City. They’re getting a top, top player, who wants to get better and better and that’s very important. He’s humble. He’s very, very skilful with the ball at his feet. He has a good pass between the lines. He reads the game well, he attacks the ball well in the air. He’s strong in the duels."

No team has kept more clean sheets than Wolves in the Premier League this season, but you can't help but feel that Dias would've transformed the club into a genuine top-seven contender for years to come.

AND in other news, Shi would be showing a serious lack of ambition with Jan swoop for £4.95m-rated colossus...