Manchester City superstar Kevin de Bruyne is out of contract at the end of the season and TEAMtalk can confirm that Saudi club Al-Nassr are confident of signing him.
The Cityzens have been the dominant force in the Premier League for several years and the Belgian international has been key to the club’s incredible success.
But a new era is coming at Man City in which we’ll see some of the most important players in Pep Guardiola’s squad move on, and no name is bigger than De Bruyne’s.
The 33-year-old has been a stalwart for the club and at one stage was considered, arguably, the best player in the Premier League. De Bruyne’s stats in terms of chance creation and assists speak for themselves and he will be very difficult to replace.
He will leave Man City as a legend of the club and TEAMtalk sources say that it’s very likely he’ll depart next summer, with a big-money move to Saudi Arabia on the cards.
We understand that the Man City board are reluctant to offer De Bruyne a contract extension due to his age and recent injury problems. He’s already missed six matches due to a hamstring issue this season, after he was unavailable for 41 last term.
This has given Al-Nassr hope that they can convince De Bruyne to ditch Man City for SPL and join superstar Cristiano Ronaldo at the Saudi club next season.
Al-Nassr prepare mind-blowing De Bruyne offer
TEAMtalk understands that Al-Nassr are willing to offer De Bruyne a huge wage and despite the player’s reservations over a move earlier this year, sources in Saudi claim they are confident they will win the race for his signature.
There is also interest from the MLS, namely San Diego FC, who are a newly-formed team and will enter the league next year.
Clubs around Europe are also keeping tabs on De Bruyne’s situation but most will struggle to match his wage demands, and that goes for San Diego, too.
De Bruyne is on a mammoth £400,000 per week contract at the Etihad, making him Man City and the Premier League’s highest-paid players. He is closely followed by Erling Haaland, who earns a base salary of £375,000 per week.
TEAMtalk sources suggest that Al-Nassr are willing to pay De Bruyne up to a staggering £1m per week – which would, incredibly, still be significantly lower than Ronaldo’s wage of £3.4m per week.
Recent reports suggest that Ronaldo is urging the Al-Nassr hierarchy to sign De Bruyne and pay whatever it takes to convince him to join.
Pep Guardiola would be happy to keep De Bruyne for another season but the offer from Saudi may prove too much to turn down. There is also a desire from some at Man City for the midfielder to leave and make way for new talent to become the main men at the club.
Man City target new midfielder amid Rodri blow
Meanwhile, Man City are considering a move for a new midfielder as cover for Rodri, who will be sidelined until at least the start of next season with a serious knee injury.
As we exclusively revealed last month, the Cityzens have shortlisted four midfield targets ahead of the January window.
This includes Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella, Atalanta’s Ederson and Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi.
Reports from Spain suggest that Ederson is the target they are evaluating most closely at the moment, who is valued at around £50m by Atalanta.
Liverpool and Arsenal have also been linked with the twice-capped Brazilian international, so Man City will face competition for his signature.
Man City are also in the process of negotiating a new contract for Erling Haaland in an attempt to stave off interest from Real Madrid and other European giants.
The sticking point, however, is that Haaland would like a release clause inserted into any new contract, which Guardiola’s side are very reluctant to agree to.
DON’T MISS: The key contract details of every Man City first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
IN FOCUS: Kevin de Bruyne’s incredible Man City stats
Kevin de Bruyne, stats for Man City
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