Kevin De Bruyne of Man City
Kevin De Bruyne of Man City (Image: 2024 Getty Images)
Kevin De Bruyne’s contract with Manchester City expires next summer and the question of whether to renew or release lingers for both the club and the Belgian.
De Bruyne has played an integral part in multiple trophy-winning campaigns for the Citizens in a squad Pep Guardiola has largely built around him.
It’s hard to imagine a time when Guardiola could win titles without De Bruyne, but now he must a consider a future without him in his side and a future without Guardiola at City. If the 33-year-old decides not to renew next summer, who could possibly replace him and have City already missed their chance to sign his ideal successor?
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According to Macro Football, De Bruyne has two players almost identical to him when it comes to his impact on City’s offence and defence, and City have already missed their chance to an ideal succession plan. These two players are Cole Palmer and James Maddison.
The time has come to accept that selling Cole Palmer to Chelsea was a mistake. While it could be argued the sale was justified given his inability to get minutes in a title-winning team at the time, City are far from title-winning form and Palmer would easily start in a side in desperate need of revitalisation.
City’s current form aside, keeping Palmer would have been ideal in succeeding De Bruyne. His impact on Chelsea’s offensive play is unquestionable. With 33 goals and assists in 34 Premier League matches last season and 12 in 12 this season, there’s surely no doubt he would have thrived in City’s midfield after De Bruyne.
James Maddison has been linked multiple times with a move to the Etihad throughout his career. His finishing and effortless technique on the ball in creating chances have earned him numerous comparisons to De Bruyne.
The most ideal chance to sign him was the summer after City’s famous treble win in 2023 when Ilkay Gundogan departed the club. It would have made for an ideal replacement for Gundogan to make for an even stronger midfield after such a strong campaign.
The plan to succeed De Bruyne would have been secure as well as the future of City’s midfield. However, they decided not to sign him, and Tottenham Hotspur happily signed him for £40m that summer. Jump to last Saturday and the mistake was written clearly in Spurs’ first two goal scorers.
City have secured their most immediate future in terms of leadership in renewing Guardiola’s contract for two more years.
However, Guardiola needs to consider how to tackle the next two seasons without his most important player should De Bruyne decide to leave next summer.
With City’s present form currently in freefall, it’s no doubt been difficult for them to be considering the future. Although, with their options for De Bruyne’s succession now limited, they may soon find their future to be difficult too.
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