Barcelona president Joan Laporta and agent Jorge Mendes plan strategy to land Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva… but Manchester United’s pursuit of Frenkie de Jong is pivotal to Catalan giants’ swoop for the Portuguese star
- Barcelona are lining up a swoop for Manchester City midfield star Bernardo Silva
- Joan Laporta and Jorge Mendes have a strategy in place to land the City winger
- Frenkie de Jong’s potential move to Manchester United is key to the Silva deal
Barcelona are reportedly plotting an audacious move for Manchester City star Bernardo Silva despite the Catalan club’s perilous financial situation.
The Catalan giants are looking to rejuvenate their squad and have been linked with a host of names including Leeds winger Raphinha and Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are hopeful of landing the Portuguese international with president Joan Laporta and agent Jorge Mendes having already discussed a strategy to get a deal over the line.
Bernardo Silva is wanted by Barcelona this summer but a deal for the midfielder will be tricky
Joan Laporta has held talks with agent Jorge Mendes to plot a deal to take Silva to Catalonia
Barca’s optimism stems from reports claiming the City star wants to play for Barcelona, however the Premier League champions are likely to demand a fee in the region of £85 million which as a standalone deal, would prove challenging.
The idea put forward by the pair is to make a small initial payment followed by multiple instalments spread over the next few seasons.
It remains to be seen whether Barcelona can tempt City into a deal of this type and whether City would be prepared to let go of the 27-year-old.
Bernardo Silva has spent five seasons at Manchester City winning four Premier League titles
Frenkie de Jong’s on/off move to Manchester United is the key to Barca landing Bernardo Silva
Any deal for Silva would certainly hinge on Barcelona offloading Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong who has been heavily linked with Manchester United.
The Blaugrana have reportedly rebuffed offers from United for the 25-year-old this summer with the clubs no closer to an agreement on the midfielder’s valuation.
An offer of around £70m is expected to tempt Barcelona into selling De Jong, leaving the ball firmly in United’s court if they want to land the Dutchman.
Barcelona’s line-up next season is already sparking much intrigue but what seems clear is that the club are now focusing their efforts on bolstering their attack after the free-transfer signing of Chelsea defender Andreas Christensen.
The future of De Jong’s international team-mate Memphis Depay is also unclear as is that of veteran defender Gerard Pique as Barcelona brace themselves for a huge summer shake-up.
