Losing Bernardo Silva would be huge blow for Man City but Guardiola's transfer approach is right

Here we go again. Just as Manchester City fans thought they were finally going to enjoy a summer without the lingering fear of losing Bernardo Silva, the opposite has come true.

A wave of reports over the last few weeks have said that Barcelona are confident that they can persuade City to part with their prized midfielder, with some on Tuesday claiming that a fee has been agreed.

While those reports are unconfirmed, there seems little doubt that Bernardo wouldn't be against swapping the Etihad Stadium for the Camp Nou. After all, he did ask to leave City in both 2020 and 2021, and despite feeling much more settled in Manchester now and happy with his role in Pep Guardiola's side, he is believed to still harbour ambitions of playing for Barca.

READ MORE:Nathan Ake has earned his Man City spot but one issue could impact Pep Guardiola decision

Ultimately, in regards to whether City sell or not, it comes down to that. Plenty of clubs would respond to transfer requests from their biggest stars with a flat-out 'no', but City aren't like that.

As was the case with Leroy Sane, Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Oleksandr Zinchenko, players are free to leave as long as they bring a suitable offer to the table. Bernardo may be one of the best players in the Premier League, if not Europe, but in that respect, he is no different.

"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. I will not be a person to stop a desire for the people," Guardiola explained when asked if Bernardo could leave this summer.

"Sometimes for the club, sometimes for the players, sometimes for the agent, sometimes you have to divide our path.