What is the latest on Barcelona's transfer pursuit of Bernardo Silva?
Cameron Smith
- 9 Aug 2022 19:40 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona remain firmly in the hunt to sign Manchester City midfielder Bernard Silva, with the Blaugrana keen on adding the Portuguese international to their cluster of talent in the middle of the park.
Silva, 25, joined Man City from AS Monaco in 2017, and played a key role in Pep Guardiola's title win last season. However, he has been heavily linked with a move to Camp Nou, with Xavi viewing him as an ideal replacement for Frenkie de Jong, who still remains at the club.
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The Dutchman has reiterated that he wishes to stay at the club this season, while Barcelona are reportedly willing to take legal action against the contract he signed when he joined from Ajax. That deal was offered to De Jong by the previous President Josep Bartomoeu, leaving current President Joan Laporta to pick up the scraps.
Despite their economic difficult, Barcelona have already signed Robert Lewandowski, Jules Kounde and Raphinha on massive fees this summer, while Andreas Christensen and Franck Kessie have arrived on free transfers.
Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso is also on their radar as they look to sign a rotation option for the ageing Jordi Alba. Right-back is also an area of weakness, but their attempts to sign Cesar Azpilicueta ended in disappointment after he signed a new deal at Chelsea.
La Liga have informed Barcelona they need to raise funds and lower their wage bill in order to register their summer signings, and Sergi Roberto and Ousmane Dembele, who have signed new contracts, for the upcoming season; something they plan to do by activating a fourth economic lever and by extending Gerard Pique's contract on reduced wages.
Despite their monetary problems, Barcelona are very keen on signing Man City star Silva this summer to bolster their midfield.
The latest on Bernardo Silva
According to Gerard Romero, Barcelona and Man City have agreed a fee of less than £67 million for the transfer of Silva from the Etihad Stadium to Camp Nou.
However, Manchester Evening News have offered a counter-story, reporting that this news isn't true and that a deal has not been agreed for the sale of Silva. They have reported that Man City don't want to sell the player this summer and even if they did, it would take a significant transfer fee to tempt then and they'd need a replacement before the transfer window ends on 1 September.
