Barcelona have the chance to land an experienced title winner this summer, but they may pass up on the option. It's going to be an interesting summer for the Blaugrana as Hansi Flick contemplates how to make his back-to-back title-winning squad even stronger.
Anthony Gordon has already been snapped up, and there are likely to be other new signings as Barca look to bridge the Champions League gap to the likes of PSG, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, who are likely the three best teams in the world as things stand.
Silva is an option, but there is no rush
While Barca will be considering more big-money signings after the signing of Gordon, there is a way to add invaluable experience at zero cost in terms of a transfer fee, with Manchester City's Bernardo Silva available on a free transfer.
The 31-year-old leaves City at the end of his contract at the end of this month, and he is already free to strike an agreement with clubs outside of England.
As part of that, Mundo Deportivo report that Silva has already been offered to Barcelona by his representatives. The report adds that while Barca are not ruling out signing Silva by any means, given they appreciate he is a very good option, but he is not a priority.
In fact, even amid the possibility of Silva joining rivals Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, Barca do not feel rushed to try to get the Portugal international signed up. If Silva remains an option later in the window, he may be a player they circle back to sign, and there may be conversations with his representatives about that.
But as things stand, he is not high on the club's list of needs, and the concentration remains on trying to tick off those needs first. Silva is a six-time Premier League winner and Champions League winner, and it's clear he is avaluable option, especially for free.
But the reality is that he is unlikely to be a week-in, week-out starter at 31 years of age, so it adds up that Flick may want to concentrate on adding players who are likely to improve his starting XI in the coming season.
Meanwhile, Silva is very unlikely to be short of options, given he is still performing at a high level, and he should bag a hefty salary, given he is available without a transfer fee. And as Barca know, we are unlikely to see anything agreed until after the World Cup in any case, with the Portugal star likely to want his agent to refrain from calling on matters regarding his future until the World Cup campaign has come to an end.
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