Manchester City are set to hand Bernardo Silva a new contract just months after Pep Guardiola insisted the player wanted to leave the club.
It is a remarkable turnaround for the Portugal international, who is among the frontrunners for the PFA Player of the Year award.
There were serious question marks over his future at the start of the season due to the sheer number of attacking options at the Etihad.
After Jack Grealish was signed from Aston Villa for a British record £100million, it further pushed Silva to the sidelines.
A move away was being worked on by the playmaker’s representatives amid interest from Arsenal, where Mikel Arteta knows him well from his time as Guardiola’s assistant coach.
Further abroad, there was talk of a La Liga transfer with Real Madrid and Barcelona monitoring the situation but in the end a deal never materialised.
And that has worked a treat for all parties after a sensational season; The Times report that Silva is on the brink of signing a new contract with City.
With the Premier League champions on course to defend their crown at a canter, the former Monaco man has proved the driving force.
His seven goals do little justice for the impact he has had while he has operated in a deeper role - taking on the duties of his namesake David Silva.
The perfect moment to sum up the mercurial talent was back in December when he was the match-winner for City as they beat Aston Villa in a tense 2-1 victory.
Silva sealed the win with an outrageous volley at a pivotal moment in the season with Guardiola’s men a point behind league leaders Chelsea at the time.
And the Catalan coach said of the player: “He is the best. He was the best two or three seasons ago. He was the best then too.
“He has a special ability to do whatever he wants with the ball. Against a good goalkeeper it was an incredible finish.”
It had been believed that the 27-year-old would be surplus to requirements this season yet that could not be much further from the case.
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In fact, the only outfield player with more minutes on the pitch than him is Joao Cancelo - who also landed a new contract this week.
It is a testament to the Portuguese ace’s professionalism while Arsenal can feel right to rue missing out on the attacking midfielder.
While Martin Odegaard and Emile Smith Rowe have been more than adequate under Arteta, their midfield issues have reared their head again after recent red cards to Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.
