Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva is being set up for a ‘dream’ move to Barcelona, which could be worth €80m in total.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who say that despite it being considered a ‘complicated operation’, Silva is once again an option for the Catalans.
President Joan Laporta, manager Xavi and the footballer’s agent, Jorge Mendes, want to try to make the deal happen, with Silva continuing to ‘dream’ of moving to the Camp Nou.
He has been made aware of all the movements for several days and has gone as far as to stop any other proposals being made to wait and see what will happen with Barcelona.
The Manchester City midfielder is ‘willing to press’ the club to be able to leave because he believes he can make his dream move come true.
He is expecting Barcelona to make their move for him and do so quickly because, unlike in previous years when they’ve also shown an interest, he will not wait until the end of the transfer window.
He also understands that Manchester City will need to source a top-level replacement for him and doesn’t want to leave them scrambling late in the market.
The whole operation is being managed by Mendes, who offered the player to Barcelona in a recent meeting, and had it approved by those in charge of the Catalans, including Xavi, who has long wanted him in his team.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has made it clear he will let the midfielder join Barcelona should he wish to do so as long as a good offer is made. He was valued at €80m last year and it is likely they will stick to that.
Barcelona would initially prefer a loan with a mandatory purchase clause at the end of the season so they can comply with La Liga’s own fair play rules, but it remains to be seen if City would sanction such a deal.
Their idea is to utilise the relationship between Guardiola and Manchester City’s hierarchy and Joan Laporta, Deco and Mateu Alemany to help ‘lead the conversations’ and smooth things over.
Whether that is successful remains to be seen but there is hope there that something can be worked out and Silva can move to Barcelona this summer.
