Bernardo Silva admits Manchester City need to “renew” their first-team squad due to ageing stars | OneFootball

Manchester City will need to “renew” their first-team squad during the upcoming summer transfer window, Bernardo Silva has told Portuguese media.

Work on such a direction began for the reigning Premier League champions during the January transfer window with upwards of £175 million spent on four new arrivals for Pep Guardiola’s first-team squad.

Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis brought in a new generation at centre-back and have shown exceptional signs of their promise and potential in their early weeks at the club, while Nico and Omar Marmoush arrived from FC Porto and Eintracht Frankfurt respectively.

However, the aforementioned quartet of new signings may not spell the end of the recruitment drive in their respective positions either, with Manchester City and their existing and more experienced stars aware of the level of work that is required on the squad.

Speaking during an interview with Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Bernardo Silva has admitted that due to ageing profiles within the City roster, club officials will need to make changes and “renew” the side in the summer to bring the club back to their previous standards.

“Of course, generations and cycles come to an end, obviously due to age and different career stages, and this club will need to renew,” the Portugal international admitted.

“It’s a difficult job and it’s starting to happen, there are a lot of players coming to the end of their contracts, there are a lot of players who have already left and who will leave in the next few years.

“That’s part of it and it’s going to be a difficult job for the club, but I’m sure that with the players who have already arrived in recent years, and now in January too.”

The 30-year-old continued, “I’m sure the club will do an excellent job of giving these new players the stability they need to try and come close to the success we’ve had, which won’t be easy.

“But I know that this club will continue on a path of great success, because it’s a club with a very strong structure.”

Bernardo Silva is in fact one of the names whose profile could be assessed by Hugo Viana and co come the summer, and whether the Portugal international is surplus to requirements as part of the next generation of this Manchester City squad.

While the 30-year-old’s performances have naturally reduced in energy and quality this season, he remains a firm favourite of manager Pep Guardiola, who has already hinted at the need to retain some experienced names to aid the transition into a new era from next season.