Troy Deeney has urged Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to offload one of his first-team stars at the next available opportunity.
Manchester City have had a difficult 12 months, enduring a below-par 2024/25 campaign and starting the new season poorly too.
Although City have spent a lot of time, money and effort overhauling their team this year, questions remain of the overall quality of the squad.
The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Ederson and Kyle Walker have left, and Deeney believes another of City’s veterans should also be moved on.
READ MORE: Manchester City have a player in their ranks who is worth more than Jude Bellingham
Bernardo Silva in action for Manchester City v Bournemouth
Photo by Neal Simpson/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Troy Deeney says Pep Guardiola should offload Bernardo Silva
The player in question is Bernardo Silva, who has been at City since his £43million move from Monaco in 2017.
More Man City News
Bernardo didn’t have the best of seasons last term and, at 31 years of age, he is entering the twilight of his career.
Deeney believes Bernardo “has to be moved on” because other veterans have also gone, seemingly proposing a further changing of the guard.
“And it also feels to me like – again, this is difficult because I’ve been at a club for a long time, but like a Bernardo Silva,” Deeney told the Football Exchange podcast.
“He has to be moved on because Gundogan’s gone now, and Ederson’s gone.”
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola has a particular trait that could end up holding Manchester City back
In defence of Bernardo Silva
Bernardo may have had a below-par season last time out, but many City players did.
What’s important is that his form has improved in recent months – he looked better at the Club World Cup and has looked decent this season.
Perhaps it has just been a case of too much workload – ahead of the start of this season, Bernardo was one of the Premier League’s most overworked players.
He clocked up 5,231 minutes of football between 1 June 2024 and 12 August 2025, according to Opta, via BBC Sport.
This made him the tenth most overworked player in the Premier League.
Nonetheless, Bernardo has looked decent this season, suggesting he has turned a corner – he’s not way off the mark like Ruben Dias still is, for instance.
Besides, with Pep Guardiola making him City’s captain this season, it’s clear he won’t be going anywhere.
And anyway, with the likes of De Bruyne, Ederson and Walker all leaving, some continuity and experience is needed, and Bernardo provides that and more.
Indeed, Son Heung-min recently said Bernardo is the most underrated footballer around.