Manchester City will not lose their vice-captain and legendary midfielder Kevin De Bruyne this summer, according to a club insider.
The Belgian playmaker has been at the centre of continuous and ongoing speculation over his longer-term future for the best part of a year, with claims of Saudi Arabian interest first emerging during the 2023 summer transfer window.
It is widely believed that De Bruyne personally rebuffed interest from the ambitious Middle-Eastern division last summer, with a clear intention to prolong his stay with the reigning Premier League champions in search of further success and silverware.
However, with no progress having been made on the Belgium international’s Etihad Stadium contract, reports continue to speculate over whether De Bruyne could have a change of heart this summer, with Saudi Arabia expected to step up their monitoring of the situation.
Unfortunately for Saudi Arabia and their portfolio of clubs supported by the Public Investment Fund, Kevin De Bruyne has ‘no intention of leaving’ City during the upcoming summer window, according to the information of Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo’ on X.
It is claimed that the legendary Belgian playmaker will ‘personally open talks’ with Manchester City over a new deal ‘in the coming weeks’, and wants to stay at the Etihad Stadium despite the reported interest from Saudi Arabia.
While the 32-year-old is ‘aware’ of the Saudi overtures, it is further reported that De Bruyne ‘remains happy’ at Manchester City and would ‘only go if he was told he was no longer needed’. An exit is firmly described as ‘not gonna happen’, according to the source.
Previous conversation around Kevin De Bruyne’s long-term footballing plans have also indicated that should a future at Manchester City not be possible, then a move to the USA’s Major League Soccer would appeal more.
Irrespective of what happens around the midfielder in the coming weeks and months, it is believed that Manchester City will be formulating contingency plans in the event that De Bruyne opts for an exit sooner than expected.
Those plans are likely to centre around a number of names familiar to Manchester City fans through media reports in recent weeks, with players of interest including West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta, Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.
