Manchester City Transfer News: Kevin De Bruyne Talks Held amid United Rumours
Manchester City are reportedly planning on stealing one of Manchester United's top transfer targets from under their nose, as the defending Premier League champions are talking to Wolfsburg's Kevin De Bruyne about a possible summer move.
Het Laatste Nieuws' Kristof Terreur reports director of football Txiki Begiristain has already contacted the Belgium international's entourage: Man City are seriously interested in Kevin De Bruyne. 'Txiki' Begiristain already contacted his entourage. #MCFC <a class="postlink" href="http://s.hln.be/2255266" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://s.hln.be/2255266</a>
The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Old Trafford recently, and Bild (h/t The Guardian's Ed Aarons) believes Louis van Gaal is a big fan of the former Chelsea man.
De Bruyne's emergence as one of Europe's top passers and all-round midfielders has been rapid, and Wolfsburg have ridden their new superstar to new heights, quickly becoming one of the top clubs in the Bundesliga.
From a statistical perspective, the versatile midfielder has become one of the most impactful players in the game today. As shared by Stefan Bienkowski of The New York Times and Bleacher Report, De Bruyne's output matches up well with some of his more illustrious colleagues: With 36 goals in total(14 goals and 22 assists) Kevin de Bruyne is just one away from overtaking Mario Gotze's best every season.
ESPN FC's Michael Cox couldn't hide his admiration after De Bruyne almost single-handedly guided Wolfsburg past Inter Milan in their Europa League encounter, scoring twice and adding an assist for good measure: Kevin De Bruyne is really, really good. As in, 'top ten players in the world' good - on this season's form, anyway.
Premier League fans perhaps remember De Bruyne best for his time with Chelsea, where he was part of a group of Belgian youngsters who arrived with much fanfare at Stamford Bridge.
He and Romelu Lukaku failed to make an immediate impact and were eventually sold for a big profit, while Thibaut Courtois has emerged as the club's top option in goal after spending several years on loan with Atletico Madrid.
De Bruyne wasn't given much time to impress by Jose Mourinho, and while it made perfect sense to sell the Belgian to the highest bidder at the time, the decision seems a poor one in hindsight.
His fantastic performances for Wolfsburg have already led to plenty of transfer speculation, and per France Football (h/t Bleacher Report's Jonathan Johnson), Paris Saint-Germain are among his many suitors: France Football say PSG have scouted Kevin De Bruyne multiple times recently. Les Parisiens see him as a replacement for Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Blessed with pace, vision and plenty of raw scoring ability, De Bruyne has been the on-pitch leader of Belgium's national team for years, often making a far bigger impact than Chelsea star Eden Hazard, who is yet to truly make his mark for the Red Devils.
De Bruyne seems more than ready to make the step up to a bigger club, but after only moving to Wolfsburg in 2014, it seems unlikely he'd be willing to return to the Premier League so soon.
The club certainly has no intention of selling its biggest star, via Terreur: Wolfsburg don't want to sell De Bruyne and want to offer him a new contract until 2020. Player is still happy in Germany.
Wolfsburg will likely qualify for next year's Champions League, which will give fans and scouts alike a glimpse of what the Belgian can do against the very best competition Europe has to offer.
He's only 23, and with another year of seasoning in the Bundesliga, De Bruyne could establish himself as a true superstar before entertaining the idea of returning to England and possibly joining one of the Manchester-based clubs.
United added plenty of top players to their squad last season, and according to Bleacher Report's Stan Collymore, they should do so again in 2015. De Bruyne certainly fits the bill:
The Citizens aren't exactly short of cash, either, and if Manuel Pellegrini is truly convinced De Bruyne is the one player he needs to push for next year's Premier League title, a massive offer could persuade the Germans to change their mind.
