Sidney Sladen
With the season almost over, the transfer window rumour machine is hitting top gear. The latest report comes via Le Figaro who claim that Manchester United are leading the chase for the highly talented Bernardo Silva of AS Monaco.
Silva has been exceptional for the side from the principality and has played a key role in the team picking up their first Ligue1 title in 17 years. It was earlier reported that United were targeting a £70million move for Silva, and given our history of spending big, that should not be a problem. The 22-year-old attacking midfielder has impressed many this season and it isn’t a surprise that Jose Mourinho wants to bring his countryman to Old Trafford.
Silva has scored 8 times in the league this season and has even assisted 9 goals but more than his final product, the wily attacker can unlock defences and his link up play with the forwards has been exceptional as well.
While Monaco have done brilliantly to break PSG’s hold on the Ligue1 title, most pundits are certain that they will lose a few of their players next season, which does give us some hope of signing Silva in the summer.
Looking into our own squad, we don’t really have a lot of attackers that have the skill and guile of Silva. The one player who does come close is Henrikh Mkhitaryan but even the Armenian has struggled at times.
Silva would get a first team slot should he make the move to Manchester and a front three of the Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford would strike fear into any opposition.
However, the bids will come thick and fast for the 22-year-old, who still has a long way to go in his footballing career. We know the importance of building a top side for next season and Silva could be one of the missing pieces as we search for that Premier League title after the Sir Alex era.
