Manchester City almost saw one of their key players make a move away from the Etihad Stadium during the previous summer transfer window.
After being heavily linked with a move to Barcelona, Bernardo Silva ended up staying with the Manchester club and has gone on to appear in all but one of their matches this season.
Recently, when speaking about his future, the Portuguese international hinted about potentially joining a new project away from the Citizens, throwing further doubt over his future with Pep Guardiola’s side.
Should the Premier League champions find themselves saying goodbye to the 28-year-old, one other figure that has been linked with a move to the Etihad that could be an upgrade on Silva is Jude Bellingham.
Looking at the two players and their current league campaigns, the Englishman has shown in an attacking and defensive point of view where he outdoes the City star.
For example, from an attacking point of view, not only has Bellingham had more shots at goal (31 vs 14) than Silva this season, he has also made more progressive passes (86 vs 42) than him.
Then from a defensive standpoint, the Dortmund figure has a higher combined total of tackles and interceptions than the Portuguese international (69 vs 31) as well as making more recoveries than him (123 vs 59).
Should Jude Bellingham be City's number one transfer target?
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Hailed as an “exceptional” player by Guardiola, Bellingham also showed his talent during the recent World Cup for England as he ended the tournament as their second-highest rated player with an overall performance rating of 7.58/10 from WhoScored.
This is similar to his efforts at club level as WhoScored have the 19-year-old listed as Borussia Dortmund’s highest rated player for the current Bundesliga campaign with an overall rating of 7.45/10.
Taking all of this into account, if Silva ends up getting linked with a move away from City once again in the summer, securing a deal for Bellingham would not only give the Manchester club a suitable long-term replacement for him but also a potential upgrade as well.