The new Bernardo: Man City in contact to sign "ridiculously talented" star
da pinup bet： Manchester City’s mass-squad overhaul continues.
da bet7： In January, the Sky Blues spent around £180m, which was more than the other 19 Premier League clubs combined, recruiting Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nico González, Vitor Reis and Juma Bah.
Nevertheless, Pep Guardiola’s spending spree is not forecast to stop there, with the Sky Blues seemingly planning to splash the cash this summer too.
With Man City stalwarts Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne, possibly alongside others too, on their way out, do they have their eye on a “ridiculously talented” forward?
Man City's potential new attacker
According to a report by Foot Mercato, Gabriel Sara is one of Manchester City’s ‘top targets’ this summer, claiming that initial contact has already been made between the club and the player’s entourage.
Born in Brazil, Sara began his career at São Paulo, before spending two seasons with Norwich City in the EFL Championship, making 96 appearances for the Canaries, scoring 21 goals and registering 17 assists, leading analyst Ben Mattinson to describe him as “ridiculously talented”.
Thus, he earned a big-money move to Galatasaray last summer, the Turkish giants paying a reported £15.3m to secure his services, the highlight of his time in İstanbul being his goal during the Intercontinental Derby victory over Fenerbahçe at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in September, with Okan Buruk’s team currently on course to a domestic double.
So, would Sara be a good signing for Man City, and how would he fit into Guardiola’s team?
Why Man City could be targeting the new Bernardo Silva
As referenced earlier, Walker and De Bruyne are already confirmed departures from the Etihad this summer, but there could be more, with Bernardo Silva a prime candidate.
Since arriving from Monaco for a reported fee of £43.6m eight years ago, Silva has made 399 appearances for the Citizens, set to become only the 12th player in club history to reach 400 against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday night.
Ben Littlemore of Transfermarkt labels Silva an ‘unsung hero’, adding that he was absolutely pivotal to Man City’s success under Guardiola. However, this season, the Portuguese international has endured a sharp decline, with Adam Drury of Goal believing his time is up at the highest level.
Thus, he could leave the club this summer, but would Sara be a good replacement? Well, let’s compare the duo to find out.
Gabriel Sara vs Bernardo Silva 2024/25 comparison
Statistics
Sara
Silva
Appearances
41
44
Minutes
3,196
3,454
Goals
2
4
Assists
8
4
Shots
72
43
Take-on success %
64.7%
42.5%
Progressive carries
23
125
Progressive passes
66
157
Pass completion %
82%
87.1%
Big chances created
12
8
Ball recoveries
53
109
Average Sofascore Rating
7.19
7.18
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt, FBref.com and SofaScore
As the table outlines, Sara and Silva are stylistically very similar, on top of the fact that they’re both diminutive and left-footed.
Of course, Sara has a long way to go to be as good as Silva, lagging behind in terms of progressive carries, progressive passes, pass completion percentage and ball recoveries, although the Brazilian has created more chances and been successful with a higher proportion of his take-ons this season.
It’s also worth considering the respective level at which the duo are currently playing at: Global Football Rankings believe the Premier League to be the strongest division in the world, with the Süper Lig down in 18th place.
Nevertheless, Sara is still only 25 years old, and appears as though he would slot into a Guardiola team nicely.
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