Manchester City Boss Guardiola Wants Frenkie De Jong In Bernardo Silva-FC Barcelona Exchange Deal

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is said to have demanded an FC Barcelona star in a potential part exchange deal for Bernardo Silva, with the player revealed as Frenkie de Jong.

Silva is the last remaining transfer target for Barca coach Xavi Hernandez in a summer that has already seen the Catalans land the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Jules Kounde for over €150mn ($152mn).

Yet with the debt-ridden Catalans struggling to register Kounde and navigate La Liga’s strict salary cap, an approach for the Portuguese is complicated and has been made even more difficult by the Mancunians demanding €100mn ($101mn) for their midfielder according to The Athletic.

Barca need to offload players in general, and are currently trying to arrange departures for the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Martin Braithwaite and Memphis Depay.

At AS, they say that the Blaugrana are not prepared to pay more than €80mn ($81mn) for Silva. But with time ticking and the current transfer window closing in just over a fortnight, getting rid of Frenkie de Jong could immediately see one hand wash the other.

Barca are said to have agreed a €85mn ($86mn) deal with City’s cross-town rivals Manchester United for the 25-year-old, who has refused to join them due to their lack of Champions League football.

In order to lower the asking price for Silva, however, El Nacional say that De Jong and Silva could switch clubs as part of a sensational part exchange deal.

In their headline, the Spanish outlet claim that City coach Guardiola has personally requested the swap but later say in their report that it is Barca that have put De Jong on the table in negotiations with the Abu Dhabi-backed giants.

What is clear though is that Guardiola is a fan of the Netherlands playmaker, with Barca beating City and Paris Saint Germain to his signature in 2019 when they paid €75mn ($76mn) for him from Ajax.

Next week, City and Barca play one another in a friendly at Camp Nou where the players in question could have already changed employers or be ready to head in opposite directions.