Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have both expressed interest in buying Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva this summer, 90min understand.
Both prefer to take him on loan this season with a view to a future transfer. However, this is not an ideal scenario for City, who would rather agree on a permanent move.
Silva presented against Norwich this weekend / Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
AC Milan are also thought to be concerned about the 27-year-old and have had talks, but again it meant a loan structure and future fees that would have amounted to 45 million pounds.
Silva just signed a new long-term agreement in 2019 and it still has four years left to do, which makes some form of transfer very costly.
Pep Guardiola confirmed earlier in August that Silva wants to leave and that he will not stand in the way of the British record for Jack Grealish, who is likely to see the Portuguese battle for playing time with Phil Foden also come back from injury soon.
Silva, who came to City from Monaco in 2017 after starting his career with Benfica, has admitted that his next move would preferably be to Spain and he is aware of the interest from two of the biggest sides in La Liga.
Silva’s representatives have worked hard behind the scenes and helped create interest, but they realize that a deal will be difficult and much will depend on how much room for maneuver there is at City’s end.
Guardiola will not stand in Silva’s way / Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA / Getty Images
Barcelona have made checks and would like Silva, but they may have to try to get a place with him before making an offer. Blaugrana is not in a position to make a permanent bid, and it is their financial inconvenience that they may struggle to take on his full salary as part of a loan – which may be a real issue.
They have already told a number of players that they can leave – including high-income earners Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho – but as has been the case with several players in this window, it is not easy to move players with large salary packages.
Barcelona would consider letting Griezmann move in the opposite direction, but despite being a player that Guardiola had previously been a fan of, there is some interest in the Frenchman at the Etihad this summer.
Barca try to move Coutinho and Griezmann / David Ramos / Getty Images
Atletico want more attack options before the window closes. They are about to enter into a deal for Hertha’s Brazilian frontman Matheus Cunha but see Silva as a good alternative as well.
Rojiblancos are also open to a number of helpers, including Saul Niguez, who has a number of Premier League clubs that are very interested – most notably Man Utd and Chelsea.
