Di Canio drops Serie A transfer hint for Bernardo Silva, apologises to Jorge Mendes

Paolo Di Canio has unexpectedly ignited the Serie A transfer rumour mill by suggesting that Bernardo Silva could be heading for Italy at the end of the season.

Speaking on Sky Calcio Club, via Fanpage, the former Lazio striker and current pundit hinted that a major name is considering a move to Serie A, before eventually confirming that the player in question is Bernardo Silva, who is approaching the end of his contract with Manchester City.

After some initial teasing, Di Canio appeared confident in the information he had received, stressing that the experienced midfielder is expected to leave the Premier League champions after nine trophy-laden seasons.

“Like other top players who are no longer very young, he could come to our league,” Di Canio suggested, underlining how seriously he views the possibility of a Serie A switch.

Attention then turned to potential destinations. While Napoli have frequently been linked with the Portugal international in recent months, Di Canio was quick to cool that idea.

“I didn’t necessarily say Napoli,” he explained.

“It could be something more unusual… teams that play possession football, a web of short passes, not exactly like City, but with similar principles.”

That description immediately prompted speculation about Como, where the ambitious project led by Cesc Fàbregas has attracted widespread attention.

Di Canio did little to shut down the idea, adding: “Como can sign anyone. Anyone. With how intelligent they are, they can sign whoever they want, young players, even from the German second division, and turn them into protagonists straight away.”

The former Italy international then jokingly apologised live on air, saying: “Jorge, Jorge, forgive me, but this is Italy and I had to say it,” an apparent reference to Jorge Mendes, the powerful agent who represents Bernardo Silva.