Man City Silva may move to Barcelona 

Barcelona have made Silva their top transfer target, but City will not sell the 28-year-old Portugal midfielder unless they receive a huge offer, and there is scepticism within the club about whether the Catalan giants can afford to buy the player given their financial troubles.

City have already this week dismissed claims that they had agreed to sell Silva to Barcelona for £46 million. Given that Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, two players who were not first-team regulars last year, were sold for about £45 million each, Silva would command a much higher fee.

The player has held conversations with City officials about his future and although he insists that he is “happy” at the Etihad Stadium, he still feels that a departure is a possibility.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Silva told ESPN. “My relationship with the club is very honest. I’ve been open with them and they know what I want. If I stay, I’m very happy and I will always respect this club and give all my best. If not, it’s football and we’ll just see what happens.”

Jesus and Sterling were allowed to join Arsenal and Chelsea because they could not be assured of first-team football this season.

“It’s a big club and they don’t want players who are not happy at the club,” Silva said. “They always say to all of us that if you’re not happy, you can go. 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.

“I will always respect my relationship with Man City, with the fans, with the staff, with my team-mates so whatever happens, happens and it for sure will happen in a very respectful way.”

In the past two summer transfer windows City have told Silva that he is free to move if his agent could find a suitor willing to pay what they deem to be a suitable transfer fee for him.

Barcelona have been long-term admirers of Silva, but their finances have been heavily impacted by the pandemic.

This summer Barcelona have sold several assets, such as a portion of the club’s TV and licensing rights, to reduce their huge debt and strengthen their squad.

Reports in Spain suggest that despite this, the club may not be able to register five of their new players because they are not working within their wage budget, which was agreed with La Liga.

City, meanwhile, are considering making a bid for Raphael Guerreiro, the Borussia Dortmund left back, after their failure to sign their top target Marc Cucurella. City refused to pay the £56 million asking price for Cucurella, who joined Chelsea instead. Guerreiro, the 28-year-old Portugal international, has one year left on his contract.

City are in talks with Anderlecht over another left back, Sergio Gómez. Anderlecht value the 21-year-old Spaniard at £12 million to £17 million. Talks between City and Anderlecht are progressing well and Gómez could complete his move to the Etihad Stadium in the next 24-48 hours.

If Gómez joins, Pep Guardiola will run the rule over the Spain Under-21 international in training before deciding whether he is ready to play in the Premier League.

If Guardiola and his staff believe that Gómez still needs time to develop his game, he will be sent on loan, possibly to one of City’s sister clubs, such as Girona.

Guardiola started the season with just two recognised full backs, Kyle Walker and João Cancelo, after Oleksandr Zinchenko left for Arsenal in a £35 million deal last month.