Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany is a "firm believer" that Bernardo Silva has still "got plenty left to offer" in Pep Guardiola's side and feels that his possible exit this summer would be an "aggressive statement of intent" from the club's hierarchy.
The 30-year-old has spent almost eight full seasons at the Etihad Stadium and in that time has made close to 400 appearances in all competitions, recording 70 goals and 71 assists as well as winning 17 trophies with the Citizens.
In the eyes of many Man City supporters, Bernardo has been part of an ageing midfield that has somewhat lacked the energy and legs required to truly thrive in Pep Guardiola's system in what has been a turbulent 2024-25 campaign, but the six-time Premier League winner scored in City's 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Tuesday and Guardiola heaped praise on the versatile playmaker after the match.
"I don't forget what he has done for us this season, especially this season. I don't forget!" Guardiola told reporters. "I don't forget November, December, January, February, March when we didn't win one single game, and he was there every single time!
"Running 30 kilometres every way, playing different positions, running, and there was a moment that he was empty, mentally, and after that not winning games, he was tired, he was empty.
"But Bernardo, in the important games, has an incredibly huge personality. He's a player that, for me, is on another level for many, many reasons."
What does the future hold for Bernardo Silva at Man City?
Despite this, Bernardo has been tipped to leave the Etihad this summer; the Portugal international will soon be entering the final year of his contract and speculation over a potential return to boyhood club Benfica has resurfaced.
New sporting director Hugo Viana is tasked with working alongside Guardiola to assess the first-team squad ahead of an anticipated summer rebuild which could see a number of high-profile players depart.
Kevin De Bruyne has already announced that he will be leaving at the end of the season as City opted against extending his contract, and Bernardo is another midfielder who could be heading for the exit door having previously expressed his desire to return to Benfica before he retires.
McInerney in unsure what the future holds for Bernardo, but he believes that City's No.20 still has a role to play under Guardiola next season and both on and off-field factors could persuade him to stick around for a little while longer if the club allow him to.
"I think City are conscious of losing all these players for very low fees, because ultimately as much as you want to move on, it's bad business to let all these players walk away for nothing," McInerney told Sports Mole. "You can't lose them all for free, so someone will have to stump up a fee for Bernardo Silva.
"Bernardo Silva, typically after all those rumours, was excellent against Aston Villa. He was probably the best player on the pitch for City. Bernardo at his effervescent brilliant best where he's just everywhere and he's tenacious and he's great.
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'Bernardo has plenty left to offer at Man City'
"I actually am a firm believer that Bernardo's got plenty left to offer. I think a lot of the joy of his game's gone because he's been working as opposed to enjoying his football. I think in a confident team again, playing less football, I think he'd find a little bit of that spark again and find a new motivation as one of the leaders, potentially wearing the captain's armband, finding a new role.
"He's reasonably settled in Manchester. I think there's an element of him that wouldn't mind another year there as his little toddler grows up a little bit. [Becoming] a captain would reflect where he is in his life as a senior, as a leader, as a father.
"I think there's a small part of him that would do another year and then potentially walk out on a free afterwards, back home to where his family are and play for Benfica. I think there's an element of him that would be fine with that because it suits his life right now."
McInerney added: "I saw some rumours that the potential exits (at Man City) are potentially encouraged by the sporting directors - Hugo Viana, Txiki Begiristain, [Ferran] Soriano - who might be willing to move him on, but there's a lot that needs to happen before that actually results in anything permanent.
"I would guess that Guardiola - after his own admission that he resisted a rebuild last summer - has given the keys to the director of football and gone: 'Go for it man'. I don't think Guardiola had [too much] to do with [the January signings of [Abdukodir] Khusanov and [Omar] Marmoush.
"I think if you ask Guardiola do you want Bernardo Silva, he'd probably say: 'Yeah of course I do'. He loves Bernardo Silva. He's 30 years old, incredibly versatile, incredibly likeable. I don't think he's good at right-wing anymore, I don't think he has the magic there, but I think he's more than a good enough option to play in midfield for many years."
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Bernardo exit would be a "real aggressive statement of intent" from City hierarchy
Discussing what Man City are likely to weigh up when assessing Bernardo's future, McInerney said: "He's only 30, he could probably play for another five years at a good level given his intelligence, but him moving on would be a real aggressive statement of intent of a rebuild in my opinion.
"It's easy to move on De Bruyne, even though he's a legend, because his contract's up, [but] it's hard to sell someone for a fee less than you want, because [Man City] would want more than the £10m-£15m Benfica would pay in my guess. I think that's all they'd pay."
It is understood that Benfica, where Bernardo spent 11 years in the academy and two more in the senior team before moving to Monaco in 2015, are ready to find an agreement with Man City to bring the midfielder back to Portugal, but his £50m release clause is considered a major stumbling block.
"The flip side of [selling Bernardo] is that it means that City mean business, [the hierarchy] all want an aggressive rebuild and as a football fan that's quite exciting," McInerney added. "I like new stories, as much as I don't want to see the legends go, I also don't want to watch the same thing forever.
"I actually quite like it when new players come in, because I like the new stories and the angles and it's exciting to me to say thank you after eight years, move on and then watch the new guys come in.
"I'm relaxed either way. If he stays, great. He's a brilliant leader, I think he's got a lot more to offer and I would not be surprised if he saw a lot more of the Bernardo we saw against Villa next season, if he was given a chance to relax a little bit and enjoy himself.
"But if he moves on, at the same time it means City are serious about their rebuild - they can be serious about the rebuild without moving Bernardo on by the way, but it just means being aggressive with a rebuild - and I'm fine with that too, I think it's reasonably a win-win and I think Guardiola would be relaxed either way."
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McInerney continued: "I think Guardiola would take him in a heartbeat, absolutely. I think he wants him to stay, he might get his wish, [but] I do think Guardiola is going to cede to the director of football and so on.
"I think he understands that the time is right and he's basically admitted publicly that he loves these players and he's very close to them and it's very hard to let go and why wouldn't he, they're friends as well at this point when you've known someone for that long.
"I think Guardiola wants him to stay. Does he mean he should? Probably not, I think it's more complicated than that. Either way, given the aggressive nature of the rebuild so far, with the signings in January and given that they're letting De Bruyne go, I have trust [in the board] that they are going to do the right thing."
City to target Gibbs-White if Bernardo leaves?
McInerney has suggested that Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White could be targeted as a direct replacement for Bernardo and a decision over his future is likely to be made clear before the season comes to a close.
"I think we'll know more probably towards the end of the season, because this isn't the kind of thing that will happen after the Club World Cup," he added. "I think the players that City would want [to replace Bernardo] would be [someone like] a Morgan Gibbs-White.
"In my opinion, that would be a Bernardo replacement, given where Bernardo currently plays, an aggressive box-to-box, technically excellent number eight, that screams Bernardo Silva for me."
Press play on the video at the top of this article to hear the full discussion.
Oliver Thomas
