Kevin De Bruyne has entered the final year of his contract at Manchester City and question marks remain over if he will still be at the Etihad Stadium by next summer.
De Bruyne is a modern day City and Premier League legend, having joined from Wolfsburg in 2015 for £55m.
That has proved to be a wise investment after De Bruyne has been the focal creative point for City during a period of domination for Pep Guardiola’s side.
The 33-year-old has won the Premier League six times, the FA Cup twice, five League Cups and the Champions League in a glorious trophy-laden spell for both player and club.
De Bruyne was part of the Belgian squad which exited Euro 2024 at the last 16 phase this summer, bringing his tally up to 105 caps for his country and 28 goals.
For City, De Bruyne played on 26 games and scored six goals after injury limited his appearances, though when he did play, the Belgian was still an influential player for Guardiola’s side.
De Bruyne signed his last contract with City back in 2021, which was a four-year deal, and means it is due to expire next summer, unless a fresh contract can be signed.
It means that, as things stand, this summer is the last chance City have to obtain a transfer fee for De Bruyne, or see him walk away for free in fewer than 12 months.
Over the past year, speculation has swirled suggesting De Bruyne is among the transfer targets eyed by clubs in the Saudi Pro League, amid multiple stars from across the Premier League and European football having moved to Saudi Arabia in the last 18 months.
And as per a report from journalist Rudy Galetti, Al-Ittihad has agreed personal terms with De Bruyne over a move.
In light of this, City are said to have drawn up a shortlist of PSG’s Xavi Simons, Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala of Bayern Munich as potential replacements for De Bruyne, when he does depart and should it indeed be to Al-Ittihad.
De Bruyne will undoubtedly be a huge loss for City, whenever he does leave, but it appears the Etihad Stadium club has a succession plan in place for when the Belgian’s time at the club does eventually come to an end.
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Topics: Manchester City, Manchester City Transfer News & Rumours, Transfer News, Transfers, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League, Kevin De Bruyne