What’s the story?
Manchester United have reached an agreement with Monaco for the transfer of Portuguese attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva. According to reports coming in from The Metro, The Sun and French media outlet Le10Sport, the Red Devils have a secret agreement with Monaco that gives them the first option of buying the highly rated playmaker.
In case you didn’t know...
The 22-year-old Silva has attracted a lot of interest after his performances for Ligue 1 club Monaco this season. Monaco’s vice president had stated last week that a host of ‘major’ European clubs had shown interest in the player. However, just a few days ago, it was believed that Chelsea had opened talks to sign the £70million rated Portuguese midfielder.
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The Monaco number 10 has scored eight goals and registered five assists in all competitions for his club this season. The player also performed well against Manchester City in the Champions League last night in the eight-goal thriller at the Etihad as well.
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The heart of the matter
Monaco’s playmaker Bernardo Silva is managed by the super agent Jorge Mendes, who is also Jose Mourinho’s agent, which possibly has led to Manchester United having this ‘secret agreement’ with the player. The exact fee for Silva is not known at the moment, but reports suggest that United will have to pay a certain amount before a certain date, or else the player will become available for a transfer on the open market.
What’s next?
Manchester United will have to act quickly and seal this transfer before their first option to buy the player expires. It is believed that the option exists for a limited time only giving the club a short window of time to conclude the deal. However, Jose Mourinho is reportedly going to be handed significant funds yet again to bolster his squad this summer and the £70million rated midfielder Silva is high on his priority list.
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Sportskeeda’s take
This is a transfer that has a high probability of going through because of Jorge Mendes’ close relationship with Jose Mourinho. Bernardo Silva is the super agent’s client and this is possibly how Manchester United have the first option to buy the player. Silva is a highly rated creative midfielder and can play anywhere behind the striker and United have sold Memphis Depay to Lyon in January as well.
These factors significantly add to the chances of this transfer happening as Mourinho is in the market for more attacking and creative players, including a winger and a striker having very little to show up-front other than the 35-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goals.
