Man City can take advantage of Bernardo Silva’s remarks in the January transfer window.
On the one hand, Bernardo Silva’s latest transfer admission may set out alarm bells at the Etihad Stadium.
After requesting to leave Manchester City last summer, Bernardo stated that he is open to a “new project” abroad before he becomes too old, adding that he still wishes to return to Benfica, ideally before the age of 32.
Bernardo, on the other hand, has two years left on his City deal and, by his own admission, would command a cost that Benfica – or many other possible purchasers – could not afford. “It all depends on what happens next summer,” he said.
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Those remarks, in which Bernardo discusses turning 29 in the summer and desiring to begin a new chapter in his career before his City contract expires, will come as no surprise.
“I won’t disguise the fact that my ambition in the next years, if anything fantastic happens elsewhere, will most likely be to shift to a new project,” he stated.
“I’m not going to lie: it’s not something I don’t think about. I think about it every year. It has always been a goal. I couldn’t fulfil my dream of playing for Benfica when I was 19, 20 years old, but I still want to fulfil it. It’s something I think about.”
Bernardo has asked to leave City before, but no suitable offers have come in, and therefore he’s said he’s been happy to honour his contract and give everything for the Blues. His situation appears to be one of mutual respect, and should someone approach City with a fair offer, then Bernardo will be allowed to leave – as Leroy Sane was, and Ferran Torres, and so were Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Aleks Zinchenko.
And that is where City can use Bernardo’s potentially-disruptive comments to their advantage.
“I’m very focused on this season and it doesn’t make sense to talk about leaving because we’re in the middle of the season,” he said.
“I’ve been at Manchester City for almost six years, I have a lot of respect for the club, news keeps coming out and people know that there have been talks between me and the club and, at the end of the season, we’ll talk again to see what’s best for the two sides.
“I’m focused on winning more titles for City. We want to win the league again, we have a competition that we have never won and that is a great objective, which is the Champions League, so we want to try again.”
They know that Bernardo won’t rock the boat as City chase four titles again this season, and can breathe a sigh of relief that he won’t suddenly ask to leave in January – the first transfer window since he was unable to return to mainland Europe in the summer. Keeping Bernardo was always highly likely this month, but confirmation of that is nonetheless encouraging.
And with Bernardo making his future desires plainly clear, City have time to plan ahead for those summer talks, and start looking for potential replacements with perhaps a little more urgency.
It remains to be seen if any club will sign Bernardo in the summer, as he will surely command a big price given his abilities and contract situation. However, City don’t keep players who aren’t fully committed to their project, and would surely help him depart if the chance arose. If he will spend another summer looking to leave, then City would be foolish not to use the next six months to step up their search for his replacement.
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