Manchester City are desperate to win the Premier League title back off Chelsea next season, and are set to spend heavily on big-name players to achieve their goal. One player high up on their shortlist is Wolfsburg playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, who recently admitted the English giants have held “informal talks” with his representatives already this summer.
“We say to everybody – if they want to do something, they have to go to Wolfsburg, not to me. I always thought that I was going to talk to my club first when the season was over. I don’t have any stress about these things. It will come this way and I know that there are a lot of rumours and the papers are writing a lot,” he said.
Sold initially to the German Bundesliga side for £18M, De Bruyne could well set Manchester City back twice his former asking price, given how much the 23-year-old has impressed in his debut season. He’s made 20 assists in 34 league games, while creating more chances than any other player (112). Regular game time was the reason he left Chelsea, and his fine form has come as a result of plenty of minute on the pitch.
“It’s been for me a wonderful season. I think the thing I’m most excited about is that I played almost every game. (At Chelsea) I just decided I didn’t want to stay under those circumstances (of not playing), I just wanted to play football and that’s what I did,” he added.
Chelsea sold him to German only last year, and the midfielder is only one year into the five-year contract he signed at the time, so Wolfsburg are under no pressure to let their best player leave this summer. The Wolves hold the keys in regard to negotiations, as De Bruyne himself wouldn’t be too upset if he had to stay in Germany for another season at least.
Manchester City aren’t short of money either. The Sky Blues spent £90M on players last summer, and have averaged a summer spend of £84M over the last decade. They will pay a large sum to bring De Bruyne to the Etihad, as they have identified the Belgian as one of the best playmakers in world football, and a viable replacement for the ageing David Silva.
They are expected to table a bid for the youngster with the transfer window now officially open, and De Bruyne could well come up against his old employers with his new ones next season.
