Barcelona chiefs want to sign Manchester City ace Bernardo Silva this month.

Despite their delicate finances and pressure from LaLiga over the squad's wage ceiling, AS says Barca are actively exploring the prospect of signing the Portugal international.

City have slapped a €100m price-tag on Bernardo, who is keen to move to Barca, and the Catalans believe they can talk down the valuation to around €80m.

However, any deal will depend on Barca shifting out their big earners to make room in the players' budget.

Frenkie De Jong's sale would be enough or Barca would have to sell Sergino Dest and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to make room for Bernardo's arrival.

For his part, Barca coach Xavi would prefer to have Bernardo in his squad over De Jong, who he doesn't regard as a first-choice.