Achraf Hakimi and Bernardo Silva
Achraf Hakimi and Bernardo Silva Inter Milan and Man City

Man City open their Premier League campaign on Sunday with an away game vs West Ham United and all eyes will be on midfielder Bernardo Silva.

Silva has been heavily linked with a move to FC Barcelona and while some experts are claiming that Pep Guardiola will not let him leave but the manager has hinted that in the coming days a transfer could very well be a probability.

“Sometimes for the club, sometimes for the players, sometimes for the agent, sometimes you have to divide our path,” the manager has admitted.

“Especially the desire of the player is the most important thing.”

“Of course, I would love Bernardo to continue here, he is a special player for us. But I don’t know what is going to happen.

“What happens will happen, and if he stays it is perfect and in the end if he has to leave it is because football is like this; the player has a desire.”

Will Bernardo Silva be on the bench against the Hammers?

On Saturday, Chelsea did not use Marcos Alonso because he’s close to joining Barcelona and we can see a repeat of the same with Bernardo Silva.

While Silva is not particularly close to leaving but the Man City boss has plenty of backups for the Portuguese. He can use Gundogan in his position plus Phil Foden can also play in that role.

Pep Guardiola will definitely not be losing him over the midfielder’s exit rumours and it won’t be a surprise if he intentionally starts him on the bench this Sunday just to show him that he is very much dispensable.

He scored eight goals and provided four assists in 35 Premier League games last season and over the years he’s been one of the key players for Manchester City. However, with the kind of team Manchester City are right now, finding an apt replacement will be a walk in the park.

Read: Here’s how Man City could line up vs West Ham United.

Read: 4 major changes which will come into effect from the 22/23 Premier League season.