The Athletic share Man City contract claim, it could be a big boost for Guardiola - opinion

Manchester City could be set to tie down the future of midfielder Bernardo Silva beyond his current contract at the club.

According to a recent report from The Athletic, some people behind the scenes at the Etihad Stadium believe that Silva could be open to discussing a potential extension to his current contract at the club, which is set to expire in the summer of 2025.

The Portugal international had been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona this summer until the same report from The Athletic claimed that the player has now stuck his focus on staying with Pep Guardiola’s side.

City signed the 28-year-old back in the 2017 summer transfer window from AS Monaco in a deal worth £43m.

Since then, Silva has gone on to make 253 appearances for the Citizens across all competitions, scoring 48 goals and providing 50 assists along the way, in addition to winning numerous domestic trophies.

If Silva is indeed focused on remaining at City and potentially open to discussing a new deal, it will come as a seismic boost to Guardiola.

The Portuguese playmaker is a hugely important cog for the champions, particularly last season when only Kevin De Bruyne (139) produced more shot-creating actions than Silva (127), who also only saw Rodri (171) make more successful pressures than him (143).

With that in mind, it’s clear that he is the epitome of a Pep player; someone who works hard but still finds a way to fashion goal-scoring opportunities.

He ended the campaign with a very strong overall performance rating of 7.27/10 from WhoScored, making him the fifth-highest rated player at City, indicating just how impressive he can be with and without the ball and why he’d be a big miss for the team if he were to leave.

Last September, the City