PSG are allegedly preparing to enter the race for Manchester City player Bernardo Silva regardless of Barcelona’s interest in the Portuguese.
According to The Times, the defending French champions are putting together a bid for Silva and are prepared to spend up to €70 million (£59.1 million) for the “unsettled” Portuguese star, who still has three years left on his current contract at the Etihad.
This summer, PSG have identified Silva as one of their top targets, and the French club is reportedly “assured that he will go to Paris if a fee can be agreed.”
Barcelona have also been heavily linked to the midfielder, who joined City in 2017 for £43.5 million from Monaco and has netted 48 goals in 253 games.
But this summer’s attempts by the Catalan club to sign the Portugal international have been thwarted by their continued financial difficulties.
According to reports, City has set an asking price of £67 million (€80 million) for Silva, who was one of the club’s stars performers last season.
He helped Pep Guardiola’s team win their fourth Premier League championship in five seasons with eight goals and three assists.
Le Parisien, a French publication, reported in July that PSG were interested in signing Silva in exchange for Brazilian sensation Neymar.
As the rumors about his future persist, Silva has yet to start a game for City this season.
Silva said earlier this month that City “is a big club, and they don’t want players who are not happy at the club.”
“They always say to all of us that if you’re not happy, you can go”, he added. “Of course, they are in business and they want the right amount of money for letting us go, but personally it’s a relationship with the club that is very respectful.”
The Portuguese added that Manchester City are “always been honest with me and I have always been honest with them.”
“I will always respect my relationship with Man City, with the fans, with the staff, with my team-mates, so whatever happens happens, and for sure, it will happen in a very respectful way”, he said.
In an effort to make his mark on the team, PSG’s new head coach Christophe Galtier has already made a number of acquisitions this summer.
Vitinha, Hugo Ekitike, Nordi Mukiele, and Renato Sanches have all been recruited to the Parc des Princes by PSG after Nuno Mendes successfully completed a season-long loan at the club from Sporting.
How would Bernardo Silva fit into PSG or Barcelona?
For Premier League club Manchester City and the Portugal national team, Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva (born 10 August 1994), also known as Bernardo Silva or simply Bernardo, plays as an attacking midfielder or winger.
Silva is a left-footed playmaker who is small, graceful, and creative. He has a slim body and can play in a variety of attacking and midfield roles.
He has played a variety of positions throughout his career, including winger on either flank (although he prefers the right side of the pitch), central midfielder, deep-lying playmaker, offensive midfielder, or even as a second striker. He has also occasionally played as a wing-back or a false nine.
His technique, acceleration, agility, passing, vision, and dribbling skills are what set him apart from other players. His energy and defensive work-rate also help him cover territory, press opponents, and launch offenses after regaining possession.
Although he has a reputation for being able to carry the ball forward, run at defenders, and keep possession, he is also regarded as a strong-willed team player who likes to contribute to the development of attacking plays rather than making solo dribbling runs. He is primarily a creative midfielder, although he can also score goals on his own.
