Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have both expressed an interest in signing Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva this summer, 90min understands.
Both would prefer to take him on loan this season with a view to a future transfer. However, that is not an ideal scenario for City, who would rather come to agreement on a permanent move.
AC Milan are also understood to be keen on the 27-year-old and have held talks, but again that involved a loan structure and future fees which would have amounted to £45m.
Silva only signed a new long-term deal in 2019 and that still has four years left to run, making any sort of transfer very costly.
Pep Guardiola confirmed earlier in August that Silva wants to leave and that he will not stand in his way following the British-record signing of Jack Grealish, which will likely see the Portuguese struggle for game time with Phil Foden also due back from injury soon.
Silva, who arrived at City from Monaco in 2017 having started his career with Benfica, has admitted his next move would ideally be to Spain and he is aware of the interest emanating from two of the biggest sides in La Liga.
Silva's representatives have been working hard behind the scenes and have helped generate the interest, but they realise a deal will be difficult and much will depend on how much room to manoeuvre there is at City's end.
Barcelona have made checks and would like Silva, but they may have to try to make room for him first before making an offer. The Blaugrana are not in a position to make a permanent bid, and such is their financial predicament they may struggle to take on his full wages as part of a loan – which could be a real issue.
They have already told a number of players they can leave - including big earners Antoine Griezmann and Philippe Coutinho - but as has been the case with several players in this window, shifting players with large wage packets is not easy.
Barcelona would consider allowing Griezmann to move in the opposite direction, but despite being a player Guardiola had been a fan of in the past, there is little interest in the Frenchman at the Etihad this summer.
Atletico want more attacking options before the window closes. They are about to conclude a deal for Hertha's Brazilian frontman Matheus Cunha but the see Silva as a good option too.
The Rojiblancos are also open to some exits which could help, including Saul Niguez, who has a number of Premier League clubs taking a keen interest - most notably Man Utd and Chelsea.
Source : 90min