Manchester City have suffered a blow in their Champions League qualification hopes after failing to beat Southampton in Saturday’s Premier League encounter at St Mary’s Stadium.
Manchester City could not find a way past the Saints, a team that, up until 5pm, was level on points with the worst Premier League team of all time, Derby County’s class of 2007/08.
City somehow ended up sharing the points with Southampton despite the latter having two efforts all game, no shots on goal, and 28 percent possession.
A number of City fans called for one of the club’s players to be moved on at the end of the season alongside Kevin De Bruyne.
Manchester City fans want to see Bernardo Silva sold
Bernardo Silva, like De Bruyne, is a City legend, with both players having excelled for the club over the years.
However, Silva has struggled this season, and he had no answer against a defensive Southampton outfit.
City fans were not impressed with how the 30-year-old fared and claimed he hasn’t got what it takes at this level any more.
“The funniest thing is… Our first 11 for the first league game of next season will include Bernardo Silva in it,” one fan said on X.
“Love the guy, absolute legend for us… but he clearly isn’t good enough to play week in week out for us anymore.”
Another fan said: “Bernardo Silva needs to move on.
“He constantly breaks the momentum of our attacks by playing it safe with backwards or sideways passes.”
The criticism kept coming, with one supporter writing: “Pep from 2018-19 would’ve never accepted these performances from Bernardo Silva on a weekly basis.”
Another said: “I’m glad I ain’t the only one who saw that bland style of play. He was making every attack very toothless and lethargic. His creativity is gone!”
Another wrote: “I have been saying this whole season.
“He can’t give a forward pass anymore, that attacking flair has gone from his game. He is too slow, too predictable.
“And if you include Rico and Foden along with him in the same starting eleven, how can you imagine to win the game then!”
James McAtee was also criticised by City fans. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola was slated for not starting Jeremy Doku.
Could Manchester City sell Bernardo Silva this summer?
In all honesty, it’s very unlikely that Pep Guardiola decides to sell Silva.
His contract only runs until 2026, so it’s not as though any clubs will be looking to pay big money for him.
Silva’s contract has a £50million release clause, but there’s very little chance anyone will pay that much for a 30-year-old whose contract expires in 12 months’ time.
Guardiola could potentially keep hold of Silva for next season and then let him leave on a free transfer as is happening with De Bruyne.
We can look at it this way – maybe it’s just a case of Silva having a bad season. After all, he’s not the only one who’s been doing badly.
Phil Foden is a great player, and he’s young, but he’s also been struggling this season.
Let’s see what happens over the summer – admittedly, the Club World Cup means City will be busy during a period where most players rest.
But with the squad rebuild already under way, we could possibly see reinforcements that will ease the workload on Silva and other players.
