The Spaniard joined Manchester City on a four-year deal in the summer of 2010 from Valencia. His introduction to English football coincided with the start of the Citizens’ domestic dominance.
Silva has confirmed this will be his last season with the English champions, having written his name as one of the club’s best players ever.
Foden on the other hand has made huge strides since making his first team debut for City in 2017. Despite being on the fringes for much of his young career, the 19-year-old has often been touted as Silva’s long-term replacement.
Bernardo believes Foden is an exceptional talent who is ready to make rapid progress to fill the former Eibar man’s void.
“I think Phil is a fantastic player and has a great future ahead of him,” the Portuguese said as quoted by the Mirror.
“If he stays a long time definitely [his future is bright] and I think it’s a good opportunity for him when David goes for Phil to start to play more and to have a firm position in the team.
“I think it’s tough. When you talk about City of course he’s unbelievable – a fantastic player and has a huge future ahead of him.
“But it’s never easy when in your position you have players like David or Kevin [De Bruyne] or Gundo [Ilkay Gundogan].
“So, he needs to stay calm, to work a lot and these opportunities will come”
