Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester City have found their successor to David Silva, and can build their teams around Bernardo Silva for years to come.
The versatile midfielder has been in sparkling form this season, and was once again at the top of his game as City all-but secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals with a 5-0 win over Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.
It’s been quite the turnaround for Bernardo, who looked as though he could have been heading for the exit door in the summer.
He has stepped up to the mantle left by iconic City great David Silva in 2020 though, and shown himself to be one of the club's most valuable assets, with his transformation helping Pep Guardiola’s side dominate once again this season.
“Silva, he can play multiple positions — he came in as a wide player playing right-wing a lot of the time in his first season,” former Manchester United defender Ferdinand told BT Sport.
“He evolved and took over the David Silva role. Now, he’s dominating games.
“In tight areas he’s magnificent. Scoring goals, he’s got double the amount he had last season. And they were trying to throw him in the Spurs deal with Kane, that was the rumours.
“I think he’s a guy that they’re going to build around for years to come — he’s a fabulous player.”
On exactly what Bernardo brings to the table, Ferdinand added: “The versatility. Don’t underestimate that. He could probably play five positions in midfield and up front — the value in that in a team that are going on all fronts to win things is huge.
“We saw him play at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were flying at the time, and played in the defensive midfield role. It’s phenomenal, he was the best player on the pitch that day.
“So, the levels that he’s going to and the consistency this season if he can maintain that over a couple of years, he’s going to be a player that you thought can replace David Silva — the trajectory he’s on at the minute he could be talked about in them standards in time to come.”
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