Manchester City brace themselves for bids from top Saudi Pro League clubs for Kevin De Bruyne with the midfielder yet to start talks over a new contract
- Manchester City will receive offers from Saudi clubs for Kevin De Bruyne
- De Bruyne’s contract with Manchester City expires next season
- While Pep Guardiola is at Manchester City, it will be difficult for anyone to unseat them – Listen to the It all starts podcast
Manchester City are set to make a bid for Kevin De Bruyne as top Saudi Pro League clubs increase their interest in landing the world’s best creator.
The 32-year-old is seen as the player who can further boost the division’s appeal and Mail Sport understands officials are stepping up their efforts to lure him away from the Premier League.
De Bruyne’s contract expires at the end of next season and he cannot yet give any indication of his future plans. Discussions about new terms with the Treble winners have not yet started.
De Bruyne has been in stunning form for City since returning from hamstring surgery with seven assists and two goals to his name in seven appearances.
Four of those came off the bench, underlining his impact on Pep Guardiola’s side, but De Bruyne sat out the midweek win over Brentford with a hamstring problem.
Manchester City are set to receive bids from Saudi Pro League clubs for Kevin De Bruyne
De Bruyne’s current contract with Pep Guardiola’s City expires at the end of next season
He is expected to travel with the City squad for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth before they face Luton Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday. “I don’t know if he is 100 percent, but we made good decisions not to take any risks against Brentford,” Guardiola said.
“I know if the result wasn’t good people would ask why he wasn’t playing, but we made a decision because he wasn’t comfortable.”
Pro League sporting director Michael Emenalo attended one of City’s training sessions during the Club World Cup before Christmas as De Bruyne worked on his comeback after five months away.
Emenalo – who signed De Bruyne from Genk to Chelsea in 2012 – accepted an invitation to watch and sit next to City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund owns majority stakes in Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, with one of the quartets most likely to land the world’s biggest stars if they
City did business with Saudi last summer when both Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte opted for a move to Al-Ahli and Al Nassr respectively. The pair went for a combined sum of £54 million.
Pro League sporting director Michael Emenalo attended City training during the Club World Cup