Boss calling on Silva to return early to City fold
BERNARDO Silva was asked to return early for City training as Pep Guardiola prepares for the new season.
The City boss is trying to piece together a Premier League title defence but is without most of the players that won the league owing to World Cup commitments.
No player that went to the tournament was included in the City touring squad for friendlies with Dortmund, Liverpool and Bayern Munich this month as the manager is keen not to overwork his stars.
But an exception was made for 23-year-old Bernardo, who was asked to join up with the squad in New York despite making it to the last-16 with Portugal. The skilful forward flew into the United States on Sunday evening and was immediately put to work in training on Monday morning with the rest of the young squad.
While he was the first signing of the summer in 2017, Bernardo only actually joined up with the squad for their final pre-season game following his involvement in the Confederations Cup and it took until the Bernardo Silva second half of the campaign before the manager saw the best of him. With so many players looking unlikely to be at 100 per cent ahead of the new season, City are gambling that Bernardo can bolster their star quality for the opening weeks by being match sharp for the trip to Arsenal on August 12 and not suffer from his early start later down the line. Riyad Mahrez should also start the campaign having not been involved in Russia, and while the Algerian adds competition for places, Bernardo is pleased to have the new addition at the club.
“He’s going to improve our squad. He’s a fantastic player, as he showed us in the last years in the Premier League,” he said.
“When you play in a big team you know that you always have to fight for a position against fantastic players and that’s what happens at a club like Manchester City. When I first arrived, I knew I could play in the middle or the right.
“I can do whatever the manager thinks is good for the team.
“I don’t have a main goal of a main position.
“It’s always good to be able to play in different positions. It gives the manager some other options. I try to improve every day to play and be able to be as complete as I can and that’s it.”