Manchester City are reportedly set to offer Bernardo Silva and John Stones in their bid to land Real Madrid midfielder Isco this summer.
According to a report in Spanish outlet Don Balon, Manchester City are set to propose a stunning swap deal in order to secure the services of Isco in the summer transfer window. The newly crowned Premier League champions are ready to offer both Bernardo Silva and John Stones to land the Real Madrid superstar.
Isco’s time at Real Madrid has been a mixed bag, with the player never quite managing to enjoy a full season as a regular within the first-team setup. The same has been prevalent this season as well, as the Spaniard started the campaign as one of the first names on the team sheet, but is now battling for his status as a regular.
Indeed, his return could do with some improvement, with just eight goals and nine assists in 46 outings across all competitions. Of late though, widespread reports have claimed that Isco’s future at Real Madrid is uncertain, which seems to have piqued the interest of Manchester City.
The player himself has admitted to his frustration over life at Real Madrid, due to the lack of game time coming his way of late, which could only enhance Manchester City’s chances of signing him in the summer transfer window.
At Etihad, Pep Guardiola does have four world class midfielders at his disposal. But, he has already iterated that David Silva will not be a regular next season, indicating that the veteran could be slowly phased out over the next few seasons, making Isco a viable target, and a like-for-like, long-term replacement.
Swooping him away from Real Madrid might be tough, with Zinedine Zidane insisting that he would like to keep the player at the Bernabeu. But, Manchester City might just have an ace up their sleeves as they are set to sweeten the deal by potentially offering Los Blancos not one but two players for Isco.
Bernardo Silva and John Stones could be on their way to the Spanish capital this summer, with Guardiola ready to use the duo as makeweight in the deal. Bernardo Silva has been courted by Real Madrid previously, before Manchester City ended up signing him instead.
Stones, too, has been linked with Real Madrid recently, with the club believed to be eager to bolster their defence in the summer. With neither player being a regular under Guardiola, losing them for Isco might just represent a great piece of business.
But while Florentino Perez would be open for a discussion over a possible deal, Real Madrid will also demand a hefty fee in addition to the two players to relinquish the services of Isco. It will now be interesting to see if Manchester City would agree to such an unprecedented deal that would see them finally land their long-time target.
