Expert can’t believe Bernardo Silva transfer news amid ‘amazing’ Man City claim
Noel Whelan has insisted Man City cannot consider letting “underrated” midfield star Bernardo Silva leave the club if they are serious about winning the Champions League.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, backed the 27-year-old to strike up a fruitful relationship with new City striker Erling Haaland.
Silva, who has three years remaining on his contract at the Etihad Stadium, has been linked with summer moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona during the off-season.
The Portugal international asked to leave Man City last summer (2021), revealing he “wasn’t happy” at the club – before pulling a U-turn in the final weeks of the transfer window.
The versatile attacker has won four Premier League titles, four League Cups, and one FA Cup since joining the Citizens in 2017.
Whelan insisted letting Silva depart to a direct Champions League rival would be “a really bad decision”.
“He’s one of these players who is underrated at Man City,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“Last season he was exceptional. The season before that, the same.
“He’s been an amazing signing and a great signing for Man City. I find it hard to believe that they’d consider letting him go at all, especially when you’ve just brought in a striker like Haaland.
“He is someone who can open up doors, find that pass, and thread it through the eye of a needle.
“To me, you’ve got to keep players like that. If you’re serious about wanting to win the Champions League, they need him.
“He can change games in an instant.
“To let him go to a European rival like Barca or PSG would be a really bad decision.”
In other news, pundit claims Man City “will have to pay over the odds” to sign top target after latest news.