Bernardo Silva to sign new deal to stay at Manchester City amongst Barcelona transfer links
In some ways, I’m glad it’s over. Barcelona have been linked with Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva for the last two years and despite the Manchester City man willing to make the move to Spain and being highlighted as Xavi’s priority target, it’s now been confirmed that he’ll be staying in England.
Fabrizio Romano shared the news just minutes ago, stating that Silva is set to sign a new deal keeping him at the Etihad until June 2026. So we likely have a good 12-24 months before we start getting linked with him again.
Silva would have been a fine addition to Barcelona, but the financial situation at the club always made his signing slightly unrealistic. Manchester City were reluctant to negotiate on the fee they’d set and ruled out letting Silva leave on loan this year, with the midfielder a key player in Pep Guardiola’s side.
Moving on to alternative targets
This will come as a blow to Xavi and the Barcelona management team, who are still looking for an inside forward to add to the ranks, and maybe this will persuade Xavi to change his opinion on Joao Felix, who often plays as an attacking midfielder.
Barcelona are still working to confirm the signing of Joao Cancelo this week, with that move now being the priority of the team, but the chances are they will continue to monitor the transfer market for a new midfielder.
Earlier this summer the team were linked with Tottenham’s Giovani Lo Celso, and maybe something can be worked out that sees Clement Lenglet move in the opposite direction, but I’m still unsure what Lo Celso would bring to the side that we don’t already have.
But I think I speak for most Barca fans when I say that although it wasn’t the conclusion we wanted, being able to draw a line under this Bernardo Silva rumour is welcome.
