Manchester City have reportedly offered Bernardo Silva to Barcelona for £67m in a U-turn to fund a deal for Lyon star Lucas Paqueta.
That’s according to L’Equipe, or at least we think it is, as both The Sun and Daily Mail have linked to the homepage of the French outlet, rather than a specific story.
MAILBOX: Placing Ten Hag on the Pep spectrum, and Man Utd moving on from De Jong…
Anyway, let’s not let the truth get in the way of a good rumour…
Barcelona have been linked with Bernardo for some time, with a report earlier this month claiming manager Xavi saw the Portugal international as the ‘final piece of his jigsaw’ at the Nou Camp.
Pep Guardiola warned the Catalans off the City forward at that point, insisting he’s not for sale, but the latest reports suggest the Spanish boss has had a change of heart.
Erling Haaland and Kalvin Phillips have moved to the Etihad this summer, but the club have also banked over £150m though player sales with Raheem Sterling, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus the high-profile departures.
And L’Equipe now claim City have offered Bernardo to Barcelona for £67m, in an attempt to raise funds for Paqueta.
The Lyon midfielder has been linked with both Arsenal and Newcastle this summer, and Gunners director Edu recently confirmed his admiration for the Brazil international.
“I’m a guy who likes him a lot, I’ve always liked him, since my time with Brazil’s national team. He’s had a great season, he was considered the best [overseas] player in the French league.
“But today, there really isn’t any kind of talk, there’s only my admiration for the player, because the squad today is, in the position he plays, I think we’re very well served in this regard.”
The report claims City will use the money made from the sale of Bernardo to make a bid for Paqueta, and will have been boosted by Lyon chief Bruno Cheyrou refusing to rule out player sales.
Cheyrou said: “We need to reduce the squad size. In terms of departures, we will analyse offers on a case-by-case basis but the economics will come into consideration.
“We will consider the offers with [owner] Jean-Michel Aulas and [technical director] Vincent Ponsot in order to make the best decisions. I am here to ensure the best team possible, but there are other things to take into account as well.”
When asked specifically about Paqueta’s potential exit, Cheyrou added: “We are prepared for every eventuality.”
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