Bayern Munich defender appearing on the radar of Man City

Few can match the success that Dante enjoyed in 2013, lifting six trophies with Bayern Munich and Brazil and scoring the opener in the final of the Club World Cup in the 2-0 success over Raja Casablanca in December.

And different trophies could conceivably follow in 2014, with Brazil favourites to win the World Cup on home soil at 3/1 and speculation that he could move from Bayern Munich to the Premier League.

Manchester City are the team linked with the 30-year-old, with 33-year-old Martin Demichelis called upon fairly often of late and Joleon Lescott struggling for regular starts of late.

And it is in his passing statistics, rather than his defensive involvement, where Dante could have prove the most use to Man City if joining.

Dante not only averages over 20 more passes per game than any Man City central defender this season, he comfortably averages more accurate long balls and has a greater pass success rate than all barring Matija Nastasic.

Meanwhile, Dante has also been a regular member of a Bayern defence that have kept more league clean sheets this season than Man City, despite playing five games fewer.

With the Champions League in full flow, it is highly unlikely that Pep Guardiola will entertain any offers for Dante until the summer, where it will be clearer when Holger Badstuber may return after four surgeries to put right damaged knee ligaments.

At present, Bayern are not particularly blessed with lots of back up at centre half either, given Badstuber’s injury and the decision to loan Jan Kirchhoff to Schalke.

Man City’s odds are currently 1/1 to win the Premier League and should they tighten up defensively in the second half of the campaign, it is hard not to see them being crowned champions.

Arsenal, Tottenham, Everton and West Ham have kept more clean sheets than the Citizens so far in the campaign.