Manchester City fans look set for another season of Bernardo Silva at the Etihad Stadium.
After some talk at the start of the summer regarding his future, the Portuguese maestro now looks like he will be staying put for an eighth season with the club.
Despite a reported release clause of £50 million, clubs seemingly haven’t been forthcoming for the player – and that is extremely good news for City.
Because Bernardo is without question one of the best players at the club. He is also one of the best in the Premier League, and one of the best in the world.
Bernardo came in for high praise for his display against Chelsea on Sunday, with pundit Gary Neville branding him ‘a wonderful, wonderful footballer’ before naming him his Player of the Match.
Following that 2-0 victory, a very impressive statistic has emerged about Bernardo.
Man City star Bernardo Silva has run the furthest of any PL player in last two opening rounds of fixtures
City fans adore Bernardo for many reasons.
He is technically gifted, versatile and is always able to carry out the instructions of his manager given his understanding of the game.
And of course, Bernardo is well known for working his socks off – and a very impressive statistic came to light after the win over Chelsea.
According to Opta Joe, Bernardo covered the most distance of any player in the Premier League in the opening round of fixtures, going 12.4km against Chelsea.
It is the second season in a row that Bernardo has covered the most distance in the first gameweek. Against Burnley last season, Bernardo covered 12.6km.
Bernardo is just extraordinary
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It is quite remarkable the amount of work Bernardo gets through in a standard game of football.
He was one of a handful of players who returned late this summer after being given an extended break after the Euros.
But against Chelsea there were no signs of lingering fatigue or him lacking match sharpness – clearly, the £43 million signing has been keeping himself ticking over during his off-season.
It now looks highly likely that Bernardo will be a City player beyond next Friday’s deadline and it is quite simply a major boost that he will be sticking around.
Pep Guardiola has previously branded Bernardo one of the best players he has ever seen in his life, and the 30-year-old must be an absolute joy to manage.
He just does everything you could possibly ask for, and he surely stands to play a key role in the club’s push for five-in-a-row.
