Man City transfer news: Club won't include Bernardo Silva & Aymeric Laporte in swap deal with Barcelona | OneFootball

Manchester City duo Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte have both been linked with a potential exit from the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2021/22 season.

According to a report from The Athletic, both Silva and Laporte are candidates to leave City if the right offers arrive for their signatures this summer.

Laporte is enticed by the idea of returning to Spain and his fall down the pecking order in 2020/21 has only added to that feeling.

Barcelona has been touted as a potential landing spot for the coveted duo, but a fresh report from Spanish media outlet Marca suggests that City aren't willing to engage in a swap deal.

The implications of the pandemic on Barcelona's finances have been well documented, so it seems unlikely they'll be able to afford Laporte or Silva this summer.

A swap deal may be one way to circumvent the lack of available investment, but City have no interest in any of the players that Barca are willing to offer in exchange.

Samuel Umtiti, Junior Firpo, Miralem Pjanic, Ousmane Dembélé, Martin Braithwaite, Sergi Roberto and Clement Lenglet have all been namechecked as players that the Catalonians would be willing to swap for Silva or Laporte.

City, though, have no interest in such a deal.

Laporte's influence at City waned last season amid the rise of John Stones and Ruben Dias as the club's first-choice centre-back pairing.

The 27-year-old did miss a handful of games through injury and was restricted to just 14 Premier League starts.

Silva, meanwhile, was much more involved and played an instrumental role in City's domineering title win.

The diminutive playmaker's impact was overshadowed by Ilkay Gundogan but with an average WhoScored rating of 7.07 in the league there's no doubt he enjoyed a solid campaign.

What has Guardiola said about Laporte?

Having lost his place as a first-team regular at City, Pep Guardiola was asked about Laporte's future in January this year.

Though he wasn't drawn into anything regarding a potential departure, Guardiola labelled the Spain international as the best left-sided defender in the squad and encouraged him to re-establish himself as a consistent starter.

“It depends on him, the quality is there,” Guardiola said.

“[He has to] be in top form and have his mind open. He’s the best left-sided defender [we have], he has special quality with the ball. He has to be focused to come back in the best condition possible and he will get his minutes.

"After, it depends on his performance like it depends on the form of everyone.”

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