A young Manchester City defender impressed during City’s win over Plymouth Argyle | OneFootball

As Manchester City picked up a 3-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in the fifth-round FA Cup tie yesterday Vitor Reis showed that he has the tools to succeed in England. The young Brazilian centre-back arrived at the Etihad in January. There were big wraps on his talent and potential when he arrived at City. But his performance yesterday showed that Reis has all the makings of a quality centre-back. He showed everything yesterday that earmarks him as the future of Manchester City’s defence.

Vitor Reis made his second start for Manchester City at the Etihad yesterday. He had previously started City’s 2-1 fourth-round FA Cup win over Leyton Orient. The young centre-back only played the first half of City’s win on that occasion. But yesterday he played the full 90 minutes against a physical Plymouth Argyle side. He more than held his own in the physical stakes up against Argyle striker Mustapha Bundu. That is a credit to Vitor Reis that he stood up to the physicality of Bundu and the Championship side. He was also strong in the air, which is a prerequisite skill to thrive in English football. In statistics sourced from SofaScore Reis won 11 duels yesterday. That is superb for any defender. Defensively, Vitor Reis showed what he was made of yesterday.

But in possession, Vitor Reis put in a quality performance. The biggest compliment you can give the Brazilian defender is on the ball he looked like John Stones. There was a calmness to his play and he showed that he is every bit of a Pep Guardiola centre-back. His ability on the ball was a crucial factor in City’s win. He completed 87 passes yesterday with 94% passing accuracy. That is elite from any player. Let alone from a young centre-back.

All told, yesterday’s performance from Vitor Reis showed why Manchester City were so keen to sign him in the January transfer window. The young centre-back put in a display that gave the impression that Vitor Reis will be a player for Manchester City to build their defence of the future around. That was a massive positive to take from yesterday’s match for Pep Guardiola’s side. With injuries to Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and John Stones you do sense that there will now be more opportunities on the horizon for Vitor Reis to impress. Based on his display yesterday he is ready to seize them when they are presented.