West Ham United were one of the clubs to talk to Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne about staying in England this summer.
De Bruyne has now played his final match for Man City, a stay at the Etihad that lasted 10 years.
The 33-year-old amassed 422 appearances for City, scoring 108 goals and providing 177 assists during a stint that will see him remembered among the Premier League’s best of all time.
In fact, 18 of those games were against West Ham, who made a late play to enquire about De Bruyne’s future.
De Bruyne was open to a Premier League stay initially this summer, even if that might have been painful to watch from a City fan perspective.
West Ham were in talks to sign Kevin De Bruyne
That being said, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that West Ham did make a shock move to bring De Bruyne to east London.
West Ham’s squad could be set for a significant overhaul this summer as the club attempt to build a team better-suited to Graham Potter’s vision.
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images
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Potter was open to the prospect of luring De Bruyne to the club on a free transfer, even if his salary might have appeared rather large on West Ham’s wage bill.
The likes of Danny Ings will be leaving the club this summer, a striker who was earning a considerable wage at the London Stadium.
Although in terms of signing De Bruyne, it was always seen as an unlikely scenario by West Ham, who were aware of the interest in the City legend.
Of course, Serie A champions Napoli have won the battle to sign De Bruyne, and he has agreed terms on a three-year-deal to head to Italy.
How Kevin De Bruyne felt about joining West Ham
Interestingly, De Bruyne did have some interest in the prospect of joining West Ham this summer.
The chance to live in London again appealed to De Bruyne and his family, something they would have been open to.
However, the Belgian’s entourage will now be heading for Naples and West Ham will need to turn their attention elsewhere.
West Ham are interested in three Chelsea players this summer, and Potter might actually end up reuniting with one of his former colleagues.
An important summer for the Hammers, who will want to prove to the likes of Jarrod Bowen that their project does have potential to return to European football.