Manchester City spent a Premier League record £458 million during the summer window, bringing in a midfield trio of Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi, while also recouping more than £300 million through sales that saw 2024 Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, former captain Bernardo Silva and England international John Stones all depart.
Dias, who has been part of City's leadership group since his £65 million move from Benfica in 2020, has now been handed the captaincy by new head coach Enzo Maresca.
"In terms of the role I have, it goes down to trying to be the best version of yourself, and in terms of that, nothing has changed," Dias told the Football Interview. "So many people have left and so many winners have left, and now new people have joined with a lot of ambition and people that are desperate to win and that is also what makes the club keep on going.
"Others, Enzo included, that have been here and have won so much here and can very clearly point the way of how to do it and the things that are the most important and undeniable.
"But then as well, there is the ambition from us that are here and still want to be here and keep on winning. They are joining and full of ambition and with all the dreams in the world. The mix of these makes it work."
Maresca replaced Pep Guardiola, who stepped down at the end of last season after a decade in charge, having previously served as the Spaniard's assistant before spells at Leicester City and Chelsea. Dias described Guardiola's exit as far from an "easy moment for the club," but said Maresca was the "perfect person for the job" given how well he "knew the house."
City have started the season with four straight victories in the Premier League and Champions League, but face a stern test at Manchester United on Sunday. Asked how Maresca's methods differ from his predecessor's, Dias pointed to the finer tactical details.
"There's obviously many things from training session to some details about the way we press, details about the way we defend and that make all of these Enzo's idea," he said. "I feel like everything is making a lot of sense. Everyone is buying into the idea. Everyone's excited about it and there is a lot of joy in training, which is massively important."
Now 29 and one of only four survivors from City's 2023 Treble-winning squad alongside Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Rico Lewis, Dias signed a contract extension to 2029 last summer and says he remains driven despite the changing landscape around him.
"It's the circle of life, you can call it and it is just how things are," he said. "I'm appreciative of the memories I have with all the ones that left and I'm excited about the memories I'm going to make with the ones that have just arrived. I am still very ambitious. Excited is the word."