Elliot Anderson is Man City’s ‘No 1 target’ to replace Bernardo Silva as transfer fee revealed
Elliot Anderson is Manchester City’s “number-one target” to replace captain Bernardo Silva at the Etihad Stadium this summer.
That is according to former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the Nottingham Forest midfielder could cost around £80million.
Silva is expected to leave the Etihad when his contract expires on 30 June, having spent the past nine years with the Manchester giants.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been heavily linked with Anderson, while Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali has also emerged as a potential option.
Man City have made several signings in recent transfer windows as they continue to go through a period of transition.
Why Bernardo Silva replacement will be 'very expensive' for Man City
Silva has been linked with Benfica as he considers a move back to the Portuguese club, where he made his professional debut in 2013.
The 31-year-old has continued to play a prominent role for Man City this season, having started in 37 of his 44 appearances.
| Stats | Bernardo Silva | Elliot Anderson |
| Appearances | 44 | 42 |
| Starts | 37 | 38 |
| Goals | 3 | 2 |
| Assists | 5 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 13 | 9 |
| Red cards | 1 | 1 |
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed Man City’s efforts to replace Silva this summer.
“He will be very expensive to replace, but we've already seen that the groundwork is going on,” said Borson.
“Anderson is clearly their number-one target, and they're also looking at Tonali as a backup. We know that either of those players are going to be very expensive, £80m maybe.
“I don't believe these £100m stories that are everywhere right now. All these players have got £100m associated with them. I just don't believe that there's enough buyers out there or enough cash with that small number of buyers to make that plausible.
“But I do think £80m is in the realm of something that I could see City doing, particularly if it was a player that they believe could be with the club for X number of years.”
Why Pep Guardiola 'absolutely adores' Bernardo Silva
Borson insisted it will be difficult to replace Silva due to how highly Guardiola regards the midfielder.
“It's going to be expensive,” said Borson.
“You can expect them to spend big to replace a player as key as Bernardo, but it's going to take a lot of time to build a player to the status that Bernardo's got.
“He's a player that Pep absolutely adores. He's almost never injured. He's played in multiple positions. Pep sees him as somebody that's the most coachable you can imagine in terms of what Pep wants from him in a given game.
“Of course, that's going to be massively difficult to replace, but they've got to find a way.”