Ken RussoIt’s hardly a surprise that Barcelona want to bring in Bernardo Silva this summer and in a bid to make this move possible, Barca are ready to send Frenkie de Jong the other way.
A report in Mundo Deportivo that people from FCB have met with Silva’s agent Jorge Mendes because they want to sign the midfielder but are struggling to pay the massive fees that MCFC have quoted.
Manchester City are ready to sell Bernardo Silva for a transfer fee of around £70 million and there’s no way Barcelona will be able to pay such a big amount right now.
Xaiv, in a recent interview, has talked about his admiration of Silva and according to a report in the Daily Mirror, Barca are now planning to offer a swap deal between the Man City midfielder and Frenkie de Jong.
Are Barcelona doing the right thing by allowing a swap deal for Frenkie de Jong?
Manchester City are preparing a massive offer for Frenkie de Jong as Guardiola looks to add new midfielders to his squad and this is possibly why Barca are thinking of offering him in a swap deal.
The Spanish side had paid a lot of money to bring him in from Ajax and it’s safe to say the 26-year-old has come good in these four seasons. He’s played close to 200 games for FCB and right now, he’s one of the mainstays for Xavi’s team.
De Jong still has three more years left on contract with the club so Barcelona should be in no hurry to sell him off but the club’s in massive financial distress which is why they want to kill two birds with one stone.
By offering Frenkie de Jong to MCFC, they not only wish to bring in Bernardo Silva, a player who is wanted by Xavi but at the same time, they will be able to get FDJ off their wage bill for the upcoming season.
Apart from Frenkie de Jong, the Blaugrana also have Pedri, Gavi, Kessie and Gundogan who are all central midfielder so even if Xavi loses the Dutch international it shouldn’t bother him too much. On the other hand, the La Liga side do not have an outright attacking midfielder in their squad right now which is why they are so desperate to land Bernardo Silva.
This swap deal could benefit all the involved parties because Silva is ready to move to Camp Nou, Barcelona want him on board and Man City are eager to bring in Frenkie de Jong after missing out on Declan Rice. As far as De Jong is concerned, he has time and again said that he’s happy at his current club but it might be hard for him to resist a move to the Etihad Stadium plus the chance to play under Pep Guardiola. Last year, he did not want to join Manchester United because he wanted to play in the Champions League but at City, he will have the opportunity to play for the reigning European champions.
On paper, Barcelona will be sending out a top talent to a major European rival but this possible swap deal will make a lot of sense because a player like Bernardo Silva is much needed before the 23/24 season begins.
As far as MCFC are concerned, Guardiola has made it very clear that he does not want to lose both Gundogan and Bernardo Silva in the same season but after losing these two star players, if the manager can get someone like Frenkie de Jong in return we don’t think he will have too much room to complain.
