According to a report by Diario Sport, Barcelona’s new manager Hansi Flick is not too keen to sign midfielder Bernardo Silva.
Manchester City’s Silva had been on Xavi’s wishlist for the longest time but Flick seems to have some different plans. While the new manager won’t mind having a player like Bernardo Silva in his squad, the MCFC man is certainly not a priority as per Sport.
Silva resisted the temptation of joining Barca last summer following which he signed a new contract with a €58 million release clause but now he is said to be very keen on making a summer move to Camp Nou. However, Hansi Flick has asked Deco and co to go after PSG’s Xavi Simons.
Is Flick correct in dropping interest in Bernardo Silva and going for Xavi Simons?
In Simons, the new manager is trying to build a long-term squad with young players and even though Bernardo Silva will make an instant impact, the Man City man is already 29 years old. At best, Silva has two or three good seasons remaining in him but if Xavi Simons lives up to the hype, the PSG man can be a superstar at Camp Nou for the next 10 years.
Simons is only 21 years old and he’s just had a superb loan spell with RB Leipzig. His future at PSG remains in major doubt and there are rumours that the French side are looking to cash in on him.
Xavi Simons has 21 goal contributions in 32 Bundesliga games this season which are very impressive numbers for a youngster. Bernardo Silva, on the other hand, has 132 goal contributions in 233 games for MCFC but the Portugal international’s career has already peaked and it’s only going to go down from here.
Simons has spent time in Barcelona’s youth academy so they will be positive about signing him from PSG but the Spanish side aren’t the only team who wishes to sign the Netherlands international. Bayern Munich have also been linked with him and the Bavarians are said to be the favourites in this transfer race.
Simons’ transfer price is around €60 million which is similar to Silva’s release clause but we doubt if Barcelona can match up with Bayern’s financial might. Bernardo Silva has a release clause which once triggered will be enough but if Barcelona want to sign the PSG midfielder, they will have to outbid Bayern Munich.
There’s no way Barcelona can afford to pay around €65-70 million for Xavi Simons so it will make much more sense if they go after Bernardo Silva, a player who is already keen to play at Camp Nou.
