Manchester City have reportedly offered Bernardo Silva to Barcelona for £67m in a U-turn to fund a deal for Lyon star Lucas Paqueta.
Silva was one of City’s stand-out players last season but has been continually linked with a move away from the Etihad, with Barcelona and PSG admirers of the midfielder.
Reports had previously claimed that City boss Pep Guardiola was unwilling to sell Silva this summer, having already allowed Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to leave the club.
A swap deal involving Neymar joining City and Silva heading to Paris was shot down by all parties, but rumours are persisting that the former Monaco man could be departing the Etihad Stadium.
French publication L’Equipe now claim City have offered Bernardo to Barcelona for £67m, in an attempt to raise funds for Paqueta.
Cash-strapped Barcelona may seem like an outside bet for Silva, but the Catalans keep finding a way to pull deals out of the bag.
The report claims City will use the money made from the sale of Bernardo to make a bid for Paqueta, and will have been boosted by Lyon chief Bruno Cheyrou refusing to rule out player sales.
Cheyrou said: “We need to reduce the squad size. In terms of departures, we will analyse offers on a case-by-case basis but the economics will come into consideration.
“We will consider the offers with [owner] Jean-Michel Aulas and [technical director] Vincent Ponsot in order to make the best decisions. I am here to ensure the best team possible, but there are other things to take into account as well.”
When asked specifically about Paqueta’s potential exit, Cheyrou added: “We are prepared for every eventuality.”
