Barcelona eye Bernardo Silva as Frenkie de Jong replacement

Karan Tejwani

• 2 Jun 2022 15:42 BST
• 3 min read

Barcelona are planning for a possibility of life without Frenkie de Jong, and have one particular player lined up as a replacement in case the Dutchman leaves the club.

The club’s recent financial struggles mean that they are open to selling some of their top talents, and De Jong is their most sellable asset who can bring in a large fee without depleting the squad too much.

The Blaugrana have agreed deals with the likes of Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, but are unable to register them due to their economic situation.

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Barcelona do have other plans for the summer, but will need to generate money before being able to act on them, hence the reason behind selling one of the best talents in De Jong.

There is interest in De Jong from across Europe, and crucially, it could raise up to €85 million for the club and help them register players – and potentially make other signings, including a replacement for the Dutchman.

A move for Bernando Silva a possibility?

Regardless, Xavi’s team are still planning for life without him, as they’ve lined up Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva as a potential replacement for De Jong.

It was reported last summer that the club were interested in signing Silva from City, but a move never materialized and the player ended up playing a crucial role in Pep Guardiola’s title-winning side.

Now, though, according to reports in Spain, a move could happen, and Silva himself is quite happy to play at the Camp Nou if the opportunity arises.

According to Mundo Deportivo, there is also a possibility of a swap deal between Manchester City and Barcelona, with De Jong going to Manchester and Silva to Barcelona.

It is, however, still widely accepted within the club that it’s a complicated operation to pull off, and getting any replacement for De Jong – let alone one of Silva’s quality – is going to be difficult.