Fabio Vieira has claimed that a current Manchester City player took a lot of time to adapt to the Premier League.
The Arsenal midfielder has seemingly had a difficult time adapting to English football.
This season, the 23-year-old has started just two games for Mikel Arteta’s side in the Premier League.
During his debut campaign at the club, the Portuguese attacker also started in just three league games.
Signed for a £34 million (Sky Sports) fee in the summer of 2022, the former Porto technician has yet to justify his price tag.
However, Fabio Vieira has encountered a fate several City players did initially under Pep Guardiola’s reign.
Even if they did not find minutes as hard to come by as he has.
Vieira says City player took one and half years to adapt to Premier League
For instance, Joao Cancelo, who is currently on loan at Barcelona started just 13 Premier League games in his debut season at Manchester City.
After the campaign came to an end, rumours were circulating that the Portuguese full-back was set to leave the club.
But Cancelo preserved and became one of City’s most important players, as he was named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons.
Eventually, the former Juventus defender was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich but most of his time at the Etihad Stadium was a success.
Joining a top team in England from another league is one of the most challenging transitions a player can make in football.
While some manage to eventually adapt, others fall by the wayside.
According to Fabio Vieira, it took Bernardo Silva ages to adapt to Premier League football.
“I talk with some of them and of course, it’s difficult to adapt to another country, another culture, everything, even the game is different, it’s more physical and I remember when Bernardo Silva signed here, he spent one year and a half to adapt to this Premier League”, he said on the Premier League’s official YouTube channel.
“And you can see the player he is now. He’s one of the best players in the Premier League for sure and he’s doing very well.”
Bernardo Silva would probably agree with Fabio Vieira
In our view, Bernardo Silva would potentially agree with Fabio Vieira.
The £43 million man perhaps did not take as long as one and a half years to settle into life in the English top-flight.
But the former AS Monaco attacker’s first season at Manchester City was not reflective of the ilk of player he was, starting just 15 Premier League games.
Ever since then, the 29-year-old has become one of the first names on Pep Guardiola’s team sheet.
As Fabio Vieira claimed, Bernardo Silva is one of the best players in the Premier League.
But during the start of his career at City, such a claim would rarely, if ever be made.