The Belgian is leaving after a trophy-laden decade but the Cityzens can soften the blow by signing one of these brilliant No. 10s…
It has been an emotional few days for Manchester City fans after coming to the realisation that Kevin De Bruyne is leaving the club after 10 glorious years. There had been an air of inevitability about the announcement after injuries caught up with the Belgian in the last 18 months, limiting him to only 13 Premier League starts this season and just two goals, but that has not made it any easier to accept his departure.
De Bruyne will leave as City's best player ever, the main driving force of the club's relentless success under Pep Guardiola, who declared: "To say bye to these type of players is so difficult. There are players who are unique, who represent what the club wants to be. And Kevin is one of them. Now it’s a shock but people will remember how blessed and happy they were to see these type of player who gave us absolutely everything. You can only be grateful. The club gave everything to him and he gave everything to us. My period here will always have Kevin there in my memories. He cannot be forgotten."
But just as he was showering praise on De Bruyne, who has scored 106 goals and provided 176 assists for City while helping them to win 18 trophies, Guardiola made it clear that he had decided that the player's time at the club had come to an end. The coach, somewhat ruthlessly, declared: "The club has to move forward. Move on. To replicate these numbers, and his kind of things, is so difficult. But we have to find other qualities."
And now comes the hard part: picking De Bruyne's successor. GOAL outlines the top candidates City will be looking at this summer as they make one of the most important transfer decisions of the Guardiola era, one that could even dictate how much longer the coach remains at the club.
Getty Florian Wirtz
The German has been linked with City for the last couple of years as a long-term solution to De Bruyne so it was no surprise to see his name mentioned immediately after the Belgian confirmed he would be leaving the Etihad Stadium. Wirtz is the outstanding candidate to take the baton from De Bruyne simply because he has been the top playmaker in the world for the past couple of seasons, overtaking the City legend while he has been plagued by injuries.
Wirtz shot to prominence when he struck his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen against Bayern Munich in 2020 and became the youngest scorer in Bundesliga history in 2020, barely a month after celebrating his 17th birthday. He delivered on the hype with a splendid first full season in Leverkusen's first team and was in frightening form in his second campaign when disaster struck and he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in March 2022, forcing him out for 10 months.
The attacker came back stronger though by scoring or setting up 12 goals in his first 16 games back. It was the platform from which the following season he would spearhead Leverkusen's sensational charge towards a first Bundesliga title – remaining unbeaten in the process – while also adding the DFB Pokal and making it to the Europa League final. Wirtz contributed to 37 goals across all competitions last season and has been nearly as good this year, with 30 goal involvements until injuring his ankle last month.
City might have to break their own transfer record to sign him, with Leverkusen set to demand in the region of £100m ($128m) to part with the 21-year-old. The club can easily afford him, however, and the best way to move on from a club icon is to sign the player most likely to emulate him. Right now, Wirtz is that very man.
AdvertisementAFPEberechi Eze
City have also been keen on the England midfielder for a while. They considered a move both in 2023 before landing Jeremy Doku and again last summer when De Bruyne's future was up in the air. Crystal Palace's asking price of £70m ($89m) was believed to be a stumbling block each time but the fee feels more reasonable now that Eze is in his fifth season in the Premier League and an England international.
Eze has made an impressive 60 goal contributions in the last five campaigns for Palace and has been at the heart of the Eagles' resurgence in the second half of this season. He set up both goals in Palace's ill-tempered win over rivals Brighton at the weekend and was the star of the show in the resounding 3-0 win over Fulham that booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Getty ImagesMorgan Rogers
The only City player to have scored more Premier League goals than Morgan Rogers this season is Erling Haaland, while Savinho is the only one to have provided more assists. Rogers played a starring role in Villa's win over Guardiola's side in December, which was hard for the Cityzens to digest as he spent four years on their books but never played for the first team.
City, then, would have to swallow some pride if they were to sign him again but there is a compelling case for them to forget their hang-ups and make Villa a serious offer for the 22-year-old. Rogers has the athletic prowess that De Bruyne had in his best years, while he also boasts a similar capacity to create something out of nothing thanks to his ability to shoot from range and ghost past opponents.
Rogers is on a roll after setting up two goals in Villa's 3-0 win at Brighton last week and he was instrumental to Villa earning a crucial 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, scoring the opener and nearly netting a tremendous second after bursting through the middle of the pitch. He looks set to be one of the most important England players for years to come along with his fellow City trainee Cole Palmer, whom the club also mistakenly let slip from their grasp.
AFPRayan Cherki
If City want to replace De Bruyne with a player who has pure magic in his boots, then they need look no further than Rayan Cherki, who is one of the most unpredictable and entertaining players around. As he puts it himself: "I want to enjoy myself on the pitch, give pleasure to others and bring back a bit of the football I used to play as a child. I like to dribble and play with joy."
Cherki became Lyon's youngest-ever scorer when he broke through at the age of 16, although in the next few years he did not quite match the expectations his precocious talent generated. But he is still only 21 and his true talent is starting to shine through. In his last 11 matches, he has scored four times while bagging 10 assists – only failing to get a goal involvement on two occasions.
Cherki can and does play all across the attack in a manner reminiscent of De Bruyne. He would be remarkably cheap compared to the other players City are interested in, costing just £25m ($32m) due to having one year left of his contract. There admittedly might be a personality clash with Guardiola, as Cherki is the ultimate individual who only answers to himself. But it should not be forgotten that De Bruyne was at his best when he felt free to try to pull off seemingly impossible shots and passes.