City sign Silva

Manchester City have not waited to kick start the new season with the announcement that Bernardo Silva will join the club on July 1st. City have signed the 22 year old Portuguese midfielder on a 5 year deal worth around £43 million after impressing in a fantastic campaign for Monaco which saw them lift the Ligue 1 title. The midfielder is seen as the long term heir to that of David Silva, with his pace, ability on the ball and creative influence in the opposition half being key factors in why Guardiola wanted to bring him to the Etihad.

When interviewed by the clubs website Silva said, "It feels great. To be honest I'm now at one of the best teams in the world. To be part of this club and to have this opportunity is great,"

"I'm very happy to be part of Manchester City's team and I look forward to trying to do my best to help the team reach their goals.

"If not the best coach in the world, (Guardiola) is one of the best.

"Of course when you have the opportunity of being trained by Guardiola, you don't say no.

"As we all know, what he did in Barcelona and Bayern Munich was amazing and we expect also here that he will win titles. It's great to be working with him and to have this opportunity."

Silva is a product of Benfica's academy, he has 12 caps for Portugal's senior side and has helped Monaco win the Ligue 1 title this season, scoring eight goals in 36 appearances.

City fans witnessed him in action when Monaco beat Pep Guardiola's side 3-1 in the Champions League to progress from the last-16 on away goals and went on to reach the semi-finals of this year's competition.

Silva is the first of what I believe will be many signings in a very important transfer window for Pep Guardiola. Pep has had a whole season to assess his current squad and has clearly identified who needs to go and who needs to be brought in. With 4 senior players in Zaba, Clichy, Caballero & Navas already announcing they will be leaving the club come July 1st, City, without a league title in 3 seasons, have already been reported to have got there man in Ederson Santana de Moraes (Benfica Goalkeeper) and are very close to signing Benjamin Mendy (Monaco left back). Time will tell whether these heavy rumours are true, but one thing is for sure is that Manchester City don't appear to be messing around this summer.