Manchester City are preparing to sanction the departures of two attacking midfielders in contrasting circumstances this summer, according to one source.
After winning the treble, the mood is overwhelmingly positive for the blue half of Manchester at the moment. However, the Man City squad will evolve in the coming weeks. For example, captain Ilkay Gundogan has already left on a free transfer for Barcelona.
Several other players in the Man City squad are attracting interest from elsewhere. The likes of Aymeric Laporte and Riyad Mahrez have been facing uncertain futures.
Another player in contention to leave is Bernardo Silva, who only has two years remaining on his contract. He has been tipped to follow Gundogan to Barcelona or choose a different exit route with Paris Saint-Germain.
According to Football Insider, Man City now ‘fear the worst’ that Silva could leave them this summer. And rather than Barcelona or PSG, his destination could be somewhere in Saudi Arabia.
Silva could become one of the latest big names to receive a lucrative offer from the Saudi Professional League. Even rich clubs like Man City and PSG would struggle to compete with their offers because of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play parameters.
Seemingly resigned to their fate, Man City have set an asking price of between £45m and £50m for Silva. If an offer of that value comes in, the Premier League champions will accept it.
It would bring an end to the Portugal international’s six-season spell with Man City. During that time, he has scored 55 goals from 306 appearances for them, winning 14 trophies along the way.
Cole Palmer also set to leave Man City
Silva is not the only attacking midfielder that Football Insider suggests might leave Man City this summer.
A separate report on the same website has indicated that it is ‘likely’ for Cole Palmer to leave them on loan ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Brighton have established themselves as one of the contenders to sign Palmer. Wherever he goes, Man City will not be accepting any permanent bid.
But since his contract at the Etihad Stadium is due to last until 2026, time is on their side as they look for somewhere to place him in order to build up his gametime next season.
Therefore, Football Insider now expects Palmer to be unveiled by a new club for a season-long loan spell within a matter of weeks.
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