5 destinations for out of favour Manchester City attacker Bernardo Silva

Following his £43 million move from AS Monaco to Manchester City, it’s fair to say that Bernardo Silva hasn’t exactly set the Premier League alight yet, as was to be expected.

With in-form Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane to contend with, the Portugal international struggles for a starting berth with veteran David Silva and young prodigy Gabriel Jesus ahead of him.

Of the 359 minutes of Premier League football Silva has to his name, he’s struggled to replicate the form that forced Pep Guardiola to pay out the sum he did for the 23-year-old, and so here’s five clubs that could do with his services.

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#1 Arsenal

Good replacement for Sanchez?

With Alexis Sanchez yet to sign a contract extension at Arsenal, it would be smart for Arsene Wenger to use the Chilean as a bargaining chip to bring Bernardo Silva to the club.

The Portugal international isn’t having the best of times at Manchester City following his move from AS Monaco, while Silva would certainly be a welcomed addition to the Arsenal squad, especially if Mesut Ozil is another one to depart.

While Wenger has stated that neither Sanchez or Ozil will leave the club in January, but we all know that everyone has their price. The likelihood of them both signing a contract extension also looks slim, given the clubs interested in the duo and so the Gunners are at risk of losing them both.

And so, it may be wise for Wenger and Co. to try and do an exchange with Manchester City to bring in Silva, given the Premier League leaders were close to signing Sanchez in the summer.

Silva can play on both the left and right flank, while his favoured position is the No. 10. However, should one of Ozil or Sanchez sign an extension, then Wenger can very much fit the Portuguese alongside one of the duo.

We also know that Wenger was interested in bringing Thomas Lemar to the club in the summer, while 23-year-old Silva could be another option.

#2 AS Monaco

Silva rose to prominence at Monaco

Signing for Manchester City in a £43 million deal, Bernardo Silva could well return to his former club, AS Monaco. Although it may seem a little far-fetched, it could work.

The Portugal playmaker had a great working relationship with Monaco head coach, Leonardo Jardim while both Silva and Radamel Falcao had a great understanding on the pitch.

AS Monaco aren’t having the best of seasons either, sitting 12 points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain in fourth which is to be expected given that they lost several key players in the summer: Benjamin Mendy, Kylian Mbappe and Silva.

And so now it doesn’t seem too far-fetched if the Portuguese was to return to his former club, while the current Ligue 1 champions would take him back in a heartbeat, should the price be right.

Although they like to buy cheap and sell for extravagant fees, their sales in the summer means they have money in the transfer to spend £30-40m on a player, should they choose to do so.

During his three years at Monaco, one of which was a loan spell before a permanent move, Silva featured 147 times in the famous red and white kit in all competitions, scoring 28 and creating 19, with his best season his final one before his move to England.

#3 SL Benfica

A loan spell at Benfica could benefit Silva

Before AS Monaco, there was SL Benfica: Another one of Bernardo Silva’s previous teams. While a move back to Portugal seems unlikely given the standard of football in the league outside the top three, the 23-year-old would surely return to his boyhood club one day.

A product of Benfica’s famous youth academy, Silva joined the club as an eight-year-old before winning the 2012/13 Portuguese Juniors Championship, going on to make his Benfica B-team debut on the opening day of the 2013/14 season, where he won the Segunda Liga Breakthrough Player of the Year.

For a player with immense talent such as Silva, it was strange for him to play just eight minutes of league football for the Benfica first team before his move to Monaco, but he certainly made the correct decision given the level of football in Portugal compared to the project that the Ligue 1 club had going at the time.

With that move to Monaco, Silva furthered his career, adding a Ligue 1 winners medal to his name before joining Pep Guardiola’s revolution.

However, if he was to leave Manchester City for playing time, then why not go back to SL Benfica? Even if it’s a loan spell.

The Portuguese powerhouse are already out of Europe – both the Champions League and Europa League – after finishing bottom of Group A, that included Manchester United, Basel and CSKA Moscow while they’re sitting third, behind rivals FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon in the league.

Even if it’s just a loan move for Silva, he could find his confidence once again to then fight for his place in the Manchester City starting XI.

#4 Borussia Dortmund

The ideal replacement for Dembele?

Another option for Bernardo Silva would be to join Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund. Leading by five points earlier in the season, the 2013 Champions League finalists find themselves eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Dortmund have had a torrid run of late, winning just two of their last 12 games in all competitions, a 2-1 win over FC Augsburg and a 5-0 win against third-tier FC Magdeburg.

Life in Germany had started positively for Peter Bosz who now faces the wrath of fans after throwing a 4-0 lead against Ruhr rivals, Schalke 04 in the Revierderby. It wouldn’t be surprising if the former Ajax head coach is out of a job come December.

Whoever takes over, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke and sporting director Michael Zorc should look to bring in Bernardo Silva, while it’s a surprise they perhaps hadn’t looked at him prior his move to Manchester City.

There was talk of Julian Draxler joining Dortmund in the summer following the departure of Ousmane Dembele and so a move for Silva could be another option for the German club.

Bundesliga is a well-respected league for not only the running of football clubs, but the tactical and technical side of things, not to mention Germany are the current world champions.

#5 Inter Milan

Mauro Icardi could score a few more with Silva playing behind

Before the 2017/18 Serie A season had kicked off, many had predicted AC Milan to finish above their rivals, Inter, but sitting just two points behind leaders Napoli, Inter are looking a force once again, something they haven’t done since coached by Jose Mourinho.

Like Milan, Inter have spent money this season, but they’ve invested wisely on domestic players such as Borja Valero and Matias Vecino and with fellow countryman Joao Mario at the club, he could well persuade Bernardo Silva that Inter is the place to be.

Right now, the Serie A club are lacking a No. 10 of Silva’s calibre. They have players who can play in that position but ones that aren’t suited, while the 23-year-old would probably walk straight into the starting XI.

In previous years, we’ve seen players such as Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Ruud Gullit and Francesco Totti don the famous No. 10 while it wouldn’t be surprising to see Silva be the next.

And with in-form Mauro Icardi, there’s not many better No. 9’s in football this season than the Argentine, who has scored 15 Serie A goals in 14 games – while the prospect of Silva and Icardi playing in the same could scare defences alone where they’re both in form.