Manchester City are increasingly positive that Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva will stay at the Etihad Stadium, despite interest from the European superpowers.
The right-back and the midfielder have both been offered new contracts by the Premier League champions and, while neither has signed yet, the feeling is growing that they will.
Walker, who has entered the last year of his current deal, has been a target for Bayern Munich and had been expected to join the German champions. The 33-year-old had told teammates on City’s pre-season tour of Asia that he was likely to sign for Bayern but has had a change of heart.
City manager Pep Guardiola has done his utmost to convince the England and Portugal internationals to stay, saying on Friday they would “do everything” to persuade them both.
Guardiola had dinner with Walker on Friday and has made the defender captain throughout City’s pre-season games, after the departure of former skipper Ilkay Gundogan and when vice-captain Kevin de Bruyne has begun on the bench on his comeback from injury.
Silva, who has two years left on his deal in Manchester, has attracted interest from both Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona but Guardiola criticised his former club on Friday for forever trying to sign the former Monaco player without submitting a bid that came close to City’s valuation of him.
“If we don’t get a proper offer, he’s our player and we want him,” he said.
Silva was also wanted in Saudi Arabia, although the 29-year-old has seemed to see his future in Europe. With Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez leaving this summer, his ability to play in the centre of midfield or on the right wing arguably makes him even more important to City this season while Walker is the only senior specialist right-back in Guardiola’s thinking.
Silva and Walker joined in 2017 and have gone to make 307 and 255 appearances respectively, winning five Premier League titles each and the treble of the English title, the FA Cup and the Champions League last season.
