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Written by Martin Graham | May 8, 2022
Barcelona have been interested in Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva and now reports say coach Xavi Hernandez wants the club to sign the midfielder in a bold new project.
The 27-year-old Portuguese is a huge fan of the Catalan club and has shown an interest in wearing his colors one day in a match. The Catalans can finally make the switch as Silva Manchester City are interested in midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who the Catalan giants can use in a swap deal with Silva.
While Xavi has consistently stated to everyone within the club that he sees De Jong as part of his project, the Barcelona president has announced that all but seven of the players can be disposed of. One outcast is Pedri Gonzalez, with whom Xavi is said to be hoping to partner with Silva in a bid to replicate the partnership he forged with Andres Iniesta when he was an active player at the club.
The process could prove difficult as Silva only recently signed a contract extension at the federation until 2025. His current salary is over £150,000 a week and is valued at £70m by City. De Jong is being valued at a similar price but City is unlikely to be willing to strike a swap deal with Barcelona.
However, the club has good relations with Silva’s agent Jorge Mendes and could take advantage of this relationship to sign the midfielder.
Barcelona also began negotiations with Stuttgart’s left-back entourage, Borna Sosa, ahead of the summer transfer.
The Croatian is one of the ten left-back players that the club has designated for the summer transfer, but the Spanish and German media claimed that Barcelona approached the player’s entourage to discuss this move.
German tabloid Build It also stated that the defender is pressuring his representatives to continue discussions and that the situation has caused Stuttgart’s dismay because they are currently embroiled in a relegation battle in the Bundesliga.
His contract at the German side also runs until 2025, but his €25m asking price is right up the alley of Barcelona. However, some figures in the club prefer Celta de Vigo’s Jose Galan while others prefer signing Valencia captain Jose Luis Gaya.
It remains to be seen whether or not the deal will go through, with some division over the left-back to be signed.
