Bernardo Silva 'verbally agrees new Manchester City contract'

Back in 2021, City head coach Pep Guardiola memorably confessed that the Portugal international was looking for a way out of the Etihad, in spite of his standing as an integral player for the treble winners.

Silva is believed to be pining for a move closer to his homeland, but the former Monaco man has remained loyal to Man City for the past two years and is still under contract until 2025.

However, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain have supposedly been pushing to sign him this time around, although the French champions ended their pursuit to focus on other targets.

One of those acquisitions for the French champions was ex-Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele, whose exit from Camp Nou supposedly saw La Blaugrana accelerate their interest in Silva.

Nevertheless, it was reported earlier this month that Silva was giving serious consideration to a contract extension at Man City, who will be without Kevin De Bruyne for approximately four months due to a hamstring injury.

Now, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that Silva has verbally accepted a one-year extension from the Citizens, which will tie him down to the club until the end of the 2025-26 season.

The Portugal international is expected to finalise his new agreement by the end of next week, prolonging his glittering stay in Manchester since arriving from Monaco in 2017.

A separate update from journalist Pedro Almeida claims that Silva's new terms will include a release clause of €50m (£42.8m), allowing him to leave for a relatively modest fee should a club meet that price.

Silva shone in Monaco's 2016-17 Ligue 1-winning squad before making the move to the Etihad in 2017, where he has contributed 55 goals and 59 assists from 308 games in all tournaments.

Despite his desire to head elsewhere, the 29-year-old remained a regular for Guardiola last season, playing 55 times and amassing seven goals and eight assists during Man City's treble-winning campaign.

Silva has already started both of Man City's games against Arsenal and Burnley this season, although he will miss Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla due to illness.

As well as Silva, Man City are also believed to be close to agreeing a contract extension with Kyle Walker, whose current terms only run until the end of the season.

The right-back struggled for regular starts last season and has been heavily linked with a move to Bayern Munich, but he is now expected to sign a new Man City deal in the coming days.

The Citizens have already tied Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake down to new deals this summer, while Scott Carson and Julian Alvarez have also renewed since the turn of the year.