Reports emerged this week that Kylian Mbappe wants to leave Paris Saint-Germain, and it appears that the reason is linked to Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva.
The French striker's future was arguably the biggest transfer story of last season - along with Erling Haaland - even though he eventually ended up staying put in Paris. For months Real Madrid looked certain to sign Mbappe on a free transfer, but in May he performed a U-turn and signed a new three-year deal at PSG, which made him one of the most powerful figures at the club.
However, just four-and-a-half months on fresh reports claim that the 23-year-old is demanding he be allowed to leave as soon as possible as he feels betrayed by what he perceives as broken promises made by PSG.
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Journalist Romain Molina is reporting that one of the promises the French giants made to Mbappe was that they would sign Robert Lewandowski, Milan Skriniar and Bernardo Silva over the summer; none of them made the move to France. Bernardo and Mbappe played together at Monaco before joining City and PSG respectively, perhaps explaining Mbappe's desire to play with his former teammate again.
City never received a single concrete offer for Bernardo from any club, making the situation all the more bizarre. City and their supporters were of course delighted to keep hold of Bernardo, but an unintentional benefit of him staying is that PSG - a direct Champions League rival - could be weakened as a result.
Meanwhile, Italian giants Juventus have emerged as another potential suitor for City captain Ilkay Gundogan. The 31-year-old's contract is up at the end of the season, and an increasing number of clubs are keeping tabs on the situation should he become available on a free transfer.
Barcelona are believed to be interested in bringing Gundogan in next summer as a replacement for Sergio Busquets, but Calciomercarto are reporting that Juventus could be willing to offer a transfer fee in order to sign the German midfielder in January instead.
Gundogan is a key member of Pep Guardiola's City's squad, having featured in 13 of City's 14 matches this term. It goes without saying that City are extremely unlikely to let him leave without signing a replacement.
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