There is no replacement for Bernardo Silva. Not just on the market, but in world football.

Image courtesy of independent.co.uk

Every summer since 2020, it has seemed like City are going to part company with key midfielder Bernardo Silva for one reason or another.

Whether he's fallen down the rankings in Pep Guardiola's side, or simply fancies another challenge in a warmer climate, the fact he's always performed well after not getting a move shows his own levels of professionalism, plus how highly he is rated by City's hierarchy.

But the fact is, if they lose the 28 year old this summer, in the same transfer window as losing club captain Ilkay Gundogan, and seemingly losing key players from last season in Kyle Walker and Riyad Mahrez, it'd be difficult for City to compete at the same incredibly high standard next season as they did in their last campaign, where they won the treble.

Bernardo, born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal, would understandably prefer to live in a warmer climate, and he and his wife are expecting their first child.

In other words, he and his family would like to move to Spain or Portugal, something they have wanted ever since the COVID pandemic struck in 2020. But, his options over there are sparse.

Real Madrid are extremely well stocked in their midfield and winger positions, with an abundance of young players, in the shape of Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni, Federico Valverde, and new signing Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.

Barcelona are the current holders of La Liga, and, under the management of former captain Xavi, they are playing some excellent football. But, off the pitch, they're in financial turmoil, finding themselves only able to sign free agents - such as Gundogan, the man who captained City to the treble - and still have unpaid transfer fees for numerous clubs - such as the €40 million still owed to City for the transfer of Ferran Torres in January 2022.

And none of the other sides in Spain, nor any of the teams in Portugal, are at the same standard as Bernardo, who's good enough to start for any team in the world.

Image courtesy of espn.co.uk

There is another proposal, however, one that wouldn't even have been considered a year ago, and that is a move to Saudi Arabia.

Bernardo has been reported to have admirers at Al-Hilal, where he'd join Portugal teammate Ruben Neves, and other notable players in Kalidou Koulibaly and, according to reports, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic. They'd offer him extremely high wages, and, according to goal.com, a transfer fee of around €70 million to City, which is likely to fall just under City's valuation of their number 20.

The climate in the Middle East is certainly warmer than in Manchester, which Bernardo may consider, along with the reported €50 million a year in wages, of course. But the standard of football there is much lower than in England, Spain and even Portugal. Would the appeal of being the biggest fish in an ever-growing pond tempt him to move to a completely different culture?

The other club interested in Bernardo are Paris Saint Germain. This is another step down, with the French league officially ranked as the seventh best league in Europe in the latest UEFA rankings, behind England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands, in that order. Plus, Bernardo has won the Ligue 1 trophy before, with his former club AS Monaco in 2017.

The appeal of PSG is no doubt tempting; the chance to play with players such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is appealing to any player. Paris are rebuilding after being knocked out in the Champions League Round of 16 for two years in a row, and Bernardo would be at the heart of their new project.

But, given he's been there and done it all in France, surely if he's to leave City this summer, it'd be to go to conquer a league he's never played in before?

If our worst fears are realised this summer, then who could possibly replace him?

---

If Bernardo leaves, then City will need to sign players to cover on the right wing and in central midfield. As there isn't a single other player in world football with "pausa" (the ability to slow a game down to provide the control much craved for by Guardiola) who can play both on the right wing and in centre midfield to the same standard Bernardo can, it means City would need to sign two players to fill the gap.

Guardiola likes his teams to operate with a small squad, as it means there is higher competition for places, and players remain satisfied with their level of playing time. This is the reason why City didn't buy anyone after Joao Cancelo's move to Bayern Munich on loan for the second half of the season, as Rico Lewis's emergence from the EDS acted as his replacement.

But it is versatile players like Bernardo that allow a small squad system to work when a team is playing 50 or more games a season. If City have a deep run in the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup, plus with the added FIFA Club World Cup to boot, it'll take its toll on the squad. Looking at it from that perspective, perhaps signing two players would be the best option for next season.

But, if Mahrez stays at City, there will suddenly be four options for the right wing position; himself, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and the new signing, which is likely to be too high for Guardiola.

In the left sided 8 position, there would be Mateo Kovacic and the new signing in competition, but with Rodri, Foden, Sergio Gomez, Kevin de Bruyne and Jack Grealish capable of playing there, with the potential for another midfield body to be added on top of that.

If City were to replace Bernardo with two less versatile players, say, Frenkie de Jong and Michael Olise, for example, it'd take away from the real essence of a Pep Guardiola squad. Currently, only Mahrez, Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias of the outfield players in City's squad can play in just one position, something Guardiola tries to limit.

The best possible option in world football to act as a Bernardo replacement would be Valverde from Real Madrid. The 24 year old is widely regarded as one of the leading midfielders in the game, and is equally happy playing in centre midfield and on the right wing, just like Bernardo.

Image courtesy of goal.com

There are only 2 concerns for me, and they come around his tactical introduction, and the logistics of the transfer.

Guardiola likes to have, as reported by The 2 Silvas Blog, one "control" player and one "chaos" player in their number 8 positions, particularly in big games. In recent seasons, we've seen De Bruyne act as City's "chaos" player, meaning he takes risks on the ball, with the priority being on creating direct chances.

Valverde is a similar type of player, but isn't as good as De Bruyne at this. Unlike other players at Real Madrid, such as Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, being direct and forward thinking is more important to the Uruguayan than keeping the ball and setting the tempo.

That is what Guardiola wants from at least one of his number 8's, and it's what he gets from Bernardo, Gundogan, and what he can expect to see from Kovacic. If Bernardo leaves, to be replaced by Valverde, City will find it hard to keep the ball in midfield, in big games especially.

Plus, there is the fact that Real will not want to sell a player who they see as being an integral part of their future. They will demand a fee of €100 million - at least - for their key midfielder, which will be too high for City, presuming they spend a similar fee on Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.

The best option, of course, would be for City to just keep Bernardo. But they can't do that forever, as they fully well know. But, for now at least, he looks more than satisfied at Manchester City.

The Portuguese international has recently shaved his head, in "David Silva 2017/18" fashion, gaining him yet another reason for his teammates to use him as the butt of their jokes. Then, of course, there is the nickname, "Little Teletubby," which, for some reason, is frequently used by Grealish when talking about his friend in private.

And the playful kick by Guardiola aimed in Bernardo's direction after his substitution in City's 5-3 friendly victory over Yokohama Marinos showed that he's universally popular amongst the City squad.

Bernardo is a much loved part of the Manchester City furniture. Now that we're at approximately the halfway stage of the transfer window, and there is little time for strategic targeting or planning, then we're running out of time for a transfer to happen.

If you've already got an excellent player, one that you're happy and comfortable with, then you wouldn't choose to get rid of them, would you? You wouldn't, even if a wealthy businessman offered you a substantial amount of money to buy them.

But, if this player has wanted to move elsewhere for many years, and you were denying them the chance to venture on, you might find that they'd become less comfortable as time went on.

Thankfully, Bernardo Silva is not just a remarkable footballer, but is a remarkable human as well. He is not resentful - and he has shown multiple times that he is willing to fight for his place in the side.

Since he first cemented his place in the first XI in 2018, he has been keeping the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, David Silva and even Kevin de Bruyne out of the starting line-up for big games (but not all at once, obviously.)

He has lost his place multiple times, but has always, and I mean always, ended up coming back, and he has been one of Guardiola's most dependable players during his spell at the club

So, if he leaves this summer, we'll wish him well. It will sting very badly, and it will leave a gaping hole in the heart of the football club, one that would sting more than Mahrez, Walker and even Gundogan. But, still, we'll wish him well.

If he stays, which is becoming increasingly likely as the days go by, it'll be like a new signing, a signing that could be a key figure of the next phase of City's success.

A signing that can keep the club right at the top in world football.