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8 months ago
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Over the past few days, the talk of Barcelona being interested in signing Manchester City midfield maestro Bernardo Silva has once again picked up steam.
The 29-year-old has been a subject of interest for the Catalans for the past two summers but nothing has come to fruition owing to the frail financial situation.
However, heading into this summer, there is hope that Silva’s signing could finally materialise, thanks to his €58 million release clause as well as Barcelona’s optimism about returning to the 1:1 rule.
Silva not a priority
However, according to the latest update from Toni Juanmarti of SPORT, while Silva is a player that Barcelona like and want, his signing is not seen as the top priority for the summer transfer window.
While it is true that Xavi’s continuity as manager means that Barça will again pursue the Manchester City ace, his signing, at the moment, is not seen as the utmost priority, due to multiple important factors.
Bernardo not a priority for Barcelona. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)For starters, even though Barcelona are in talks with La Liga over returning to the 1:1 rule, there is still a lot of work to be done for them to achieve those favourable Fair Play conditions.
As such, player sales might be necessary and only if they sell a forward or a midfielder, will the Catalans be able to create room for Silva in the squad.
Furthermore, in Ilkay Gundogan, they have a player of almost similar characteristics and age profile to the Portuguese international, who will soon be turning 30.
As such, spending nearly €60 million on his signing in the summer cannot be justified as a strategic signing, despite his obvious technical quality and proven pedigree.
Finally, if Barcelona have the money to invest, signing a top pivot midfielder takes greater precedence at the moment.
Once that is done and there are funds left to invest, only then Silva’s signing could be considered, but at a lower fee of possibly around €40-50 million.
