Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva is supposedly prepared to take a pay cut to return to one of his former clubs during the summer transfer window.
While Kevin De Bruyne's confirmed exit at the end of the season has dominated the transfer headlines at the Etihad Stadium recently, Silva's future is also the subject of much uncertainty.
The Portugal international is only under contract with the Premier League champions until the end of next season, meaning that a summer sale should be City's last chance to recoup a reasonable fee.
Silva has remained a regular in Pep Guardiola's side with 41 appearances in all tournaments this season, including 23 starts in the Premier League, but he has only come up with three goals and four assists in that time.
The midfielder - who has been linked with an exit for a couple of years now - also turns 31 this summer and is one of a handful of ageing stars who could be on the way out to make room for younger blood.
Silva 'eyeing' summer return to Benfica
© IconSport
According to Portuguese outlet A Bola - via the Daily Mail - Silva is 'seriously considering' going back to Benfica, his boyhood club whom he represented from 2002 to 2015.
Silva only made three appearances for the Eagles' senior team before being sold to Monaco, but the report claims that the door is open for him to head back to the Estadio da Luz this summer.
The 30-year-old is also said to be willing to take a hit on his weekly £300,000 salary at the Etihad to secure a return to Benfica, who had already been tipped to re-sign him when he enters the twilight of his career.
The Eagles are said to be Silva's 'preferred destination' for a summer switch if he does call time on his Man City career, and even though Barcelona are also in the picture, a move to the Catalan giants is not expected to materialise.
Silva has recorded 69 goals and 71 assists in 396 matches for Man City across all competitions since his £43.5m arrival in 2017, winning a staggering 16 major honours under Guardiola's tutelage, including six Premier League titles.
Which other City veterans are set to leave this summer?
© Imago
As well as Silva and De Bruyne, several other members of City's golden generation could be offloaded either for the right price or on free transfers at the end of a disappointing 2024-25 campaign.
Ikay Gundogan - who made a surprise return to the Etihad from Barcelona last summer - is out of contract at the end of the season, as is 39-year-old third-choice goalkeeper Scott Carson.
City are also facing crucial decisions over Ederson and John Stones, both of whom could leave for nothing in 2026 alongside Silva, and the former is allegedly being eyed by a former Chelsea and Manchester United manager.
Jack Grealish, Mateo Kovacic and Nathan Ake could depart if suitable offers are tabled too, as will Kyle Walker, although there are doubts over whether his AC Milan loan will be made permanent following his season-ending injury.
Ben Knapton
