Bernardo Silva may have a gentleman’s agreement that will let him depart Manchester City for a low fee should he wish to, Paul Robinson, who contributes for Sky Sports, has claimed.
What’s the word?
The midfielder has played a crucial role in Man City’s success under Pep Guardiola, but there have been long-standing rumours that he would like to move abroad, with Barcelona linked in the past.
Given their financial troubles, a deal for one of the Premier League’s star players looks unlikely, but Robinson has claimed that Silva may have an agreement with City to lower his price if he wants to make a move to Spain.
Should Man City sell Bernardo Silva?
Speaking to Football Insider, the former England goalkeeper stated that he expects the Portugal international to move on at some point, and that talks will have already taken place over his exit strategy.
“Bernardo Silva has been such a great servant to the club,” he stated.
“If he is publicly talking about moving on I suspect there has been conversations behind the scenes. I think there will be a situation that will enable him to leave.
“He has been such a brilliant player for them. If there is a situation that works for City I cannot imagine they will demand an astronomical fee for him.
“I think it will be a case of shaking hands on a minimal transfer fee. I cannot see a situation where City demand top dollar that no club is willing to pay.
“I’m sure they will come to an agreement if the right club comes in. It is clear that he see his future elsewhere.”
Another major departure?
A lot of City’s important players have departed the club in recent years, and the club have had to consistently recruit top-quality stars to replace their output.
Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane and Oleksandr Zinchenko have all left within the last few seasons, often in search of more regular minutes or to be the main star elsewhere, and Silva could be the next to follow.
If the midfielder does push for a move, City are unlikely to stand in his way, having granted moves to all their other wantaway stars in the past, but a big arrival can be expected if the 28-year-old leaves.
Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips and Jack Grealish have arrived within the last year to replace some of the departures, and another superstar signing could be necessary to replace someone of Silva’s quality and experience.
Manchester City targeting Ferland Mendy
Manchester City are reportedly interested in a deal for Real Madrid defender Ferland Mendy and the Frenchman could solve a big problem in Pep Guardiola‘s side.
According to reports from Spain, City and PSG are reportedly both keen on signing the former Lyon man, who is yet to agree a new contract with Los Blancos.
The report claims that while Mendy is waiting to sign a new and improved deal at the Santiago Bernabeu, it is not seen as a priority for the Spanish champions, who are keen to recruit Alphonso Davies from Bayern Munich.
It is suggested that he would cost a similar fee to the £47m that Madrid paid to bring him in from Lyon in 2019 after his “stunning” development – as per Didier Deschamps – and given City’s current shortcomings at left-back, Txiki Begiristain may well be tempted to bring the 27-year-old to the Etihad this month.
So far this season, Guardiola has alternated between Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo and Sergio Gomez at left-back with that area of the pitch seemingly becoming somewhat of a problem for the Spanish tactician.
The Dutch centre-back has done an admirable job out wide but doesn’t offer the attacking quality of someone like Cancelo and Gomez, having scored just once and failed to register an assist in 2022/23.
However, it is a testament to the Portuguese full-back’s poor form that 18-year-old Rico Lewis has been trusted to start ahead of him in recent fixtures, while Gomez has struggled for game time since his sending off against Copenhagen in the Champions League group stages.
WhoScored suggests that Mendy excels at passing, dribbling and holding onto the ball, all of which indicates that he could be a big success in a Guardiola side.
He also has an impressive history with Real Madrid, winning La Liga twice and the Champions League last season, playing 90 minutes in Los Blancos’ 1-0 win over Liverpool, with the left-back helping to keep the dangerous Mohamed Salah off the scoresheet, something which City have struggled with immensely in recent seasons.
The Egyptian scored the only goal when Liverpool triumphed 1-0 at Anfield earlier in the season to put a dent in City’s title hopes, with Cancelo arguably at fault as he slipped to allow the winger in on goal.
Therefore, it seems clear that Guardiola could do with a more natural left-back option in his squad and given Mendy’s experience at the top level with Madrid and France, he could be the ideal candidate.
Source: footballfancast.com
