Manchester City’s pursuit of Harry Kane has stalled, as have their efforts to ship out unwanted players. Among those are Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte, who are attracting interest from all over Europe.
The Cityzens’ midfielder Silva has a gentleman’s agreement with the club regarding his departure, reports The Times. Should a desirable offer arrive, the Portugal international would be allowed to leave. The 27-year-old wants to move to Spain to be closer to his family, but a lack of bids has left him in transfer limbo.
According to The Times, Arsenal were also keen to sign Silva. Meanwhile, Barcelona attempted to construct a swap deal involving him and some of their unwanted players, only to be rejected by Manchester City. An insurmountable debt makes it unlikely for the Blaugrana to submit a straight cash offer for the player.
In the meantime, Atletico Madrid remain interested in Bernardo. However, the Rojiblancos have more pressing needs at the moment that includes a new striker and a backup goalkeeper.
Silva trained with the first team ahead of Manchester City’s Premier League opener against Tottenham (0-1) and was an unused sub in the game. The Portugal international did make an appearance in the Community Shield loss against Leicester City (0-1) a week before, bringing his total to 202 in five years.
Another player who finds himself surplus to requirements at Manchester City is centre-back Aymeric Laporte. The French-born Spaniard was bought by the Citizens in January 2018 for a hefty fee.
However, the arrival of Ruben Dias last summer, coupled with John Stones’ resurgence, left him on the outside of the first team looking in. He was an unused sub when City took on Spurs in the Premier League last weekend.
Laporte is being eyed by Serie A giants Juventus – The Times reports. However, any potential suitors of his would have to pay the defender a huge weekly wage or convince him to take a pay cut.
