Benfica and Manchester City hold initial talks over summer transfer – Player speaks with Portuguese club | OneFootball

Manchester City and Benfica have reportedly held initial talks over the possibility of agreeing a deal to take Bernardo Silva back to his boyhood club this summer.

The ageing midfielder is one of a number of players whose futures at the Etihad Stadium linger in doubt as the summer transfer window approaches, with a new direction expected to be led and overseen by incoming director of football, Hugo Viana.

The Portuguese official is due to take on the role and succeed Txiki Begiristain in the process, after 12 seasons of the former Barcelona man overseeing some of the finest deals completed in the history of the game and constructing some of the best squads ever seen.

An anticipated rebuild of the Manchester City squad will also come off the back of a hugely disappointing season for the club, as they continue to battle it out for European football next season while also eyeing an FA Cup triumph to add some silverware to the campaign.

And in a continuation of a theme often seen in previous summer transfer windows, Bernardo Silva is once again being tied with a possible exit from the Etihad Stadium, but this time with a view towards returning to the club where it all started for the iconic midfielder.

That is according to the information of Portuguese outlet A Bola, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, who claim that initial negotiations have been held between Benfica and City over Bernardo Silva, who himself has also held talks with the Lisbon club about a move.

It is explained that Benfica see the 30-year-old midfielder as a symbol for the club and not just a target due to sporting objectives, given the ’emotional purpose’ of a possible return to Estádio da Luz.

Bernardo Silva is reportedly seen as a replacement for Angel Di Maria, and while it is stressed that there is still a long way to go for the move to fully materialise, the possibility of such a deal taking place in the coming months is rising.

There has been very little in the way of public comment from Manchester City’s manager Pep Guardiola on the subject of Bernardo Silva’s future beyond this season, nor has the player been given opportunity to discuss it himself either.

Speaking last summer, when the midfielder was linked with moves to Saudi Arabia and FC Barcelona in particular, Guardiola told reporters, “There are many rumours in the press on Bernardo but no one has called us so far.

“We’ve received no calls from Barça or any other club… He’s a wonderful player, I hope he’s going stay with us at Manchester City.”

Bernardo Silva will be heading into the final year of his Manchester City contract come the summer, and it remains to be seen how that situation would reflect upon his price tag for potential suitors including Benfica during the upcoming market.