Atletico Madrid Surpass Juventus in Bernardo Silva Race | OneFootball

Juventus had to wait to table a concrete offer to Bernardo Silva, and, the likely negative outcome of the UEFA Champions League fray, and Atletico Madrid stepping up their efforts to sign him put them at a clear disadvantage, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.

Luciano Spalletti has been playing a role in their courtship, and the Portuguese ace was somewhat open to the destination. However, his preference has been to move to Spain or to warmer cities in general from the beginning.

The news didn’t come out of the blue for Juventus, as Jorge Mendes, the agent of Bernardo Silva, had informed them last week that he was seeking an eight-digit salary, which would have been hard to match in any case, while Atletico Madrid accelerated, as they are searching for an Antoine Griezmann replacement. The representative asked for a three-year deal and rich commissions, as an offer from Galatasaray drove up his requests.

The Bianconeri will keep looking for a technical no.10, but they’ll be hamstrung on the transfer market if they do miss out on the top four. They will test the waters to see whether Tijjani Reijnders and Brahim Diaz could leave Manchester City and Real Madrid, and on what conditions.

Our Take on Juventus, Atletico Madrid, and Bernardo Silva

He’s an excellent opportunity, but their chase would have likely collapsed anyway if those were really his demands, as they are moving on from humongous salaries. An inventive attacking midfielder is a necessity, as their offense often stalls and gets too one-dimensional. An agile and well-rounded no.9 could also help with that, but they are hard to find and tend to cost a boatload of money.