Guardiola makes final De Bruyne decision as several Man City blockbuster deals are put on ice

Pep Guardiola has responded to the claims that Kevin De Bruyne has agreed to leave Manchester City and join Saudi side Al-Ittihad.

It’s been well-documented that the Belgian playmaker is a target for clubs in Saudi Arabia with the league keen to attract more superstars this summer.

Last week, it was claimed that De Bruyne had ‘given his approval to the transfer’ and the deal was solely down to Man City agreeing a fee with Al-Ittihad.

However, Fabrizio Romano has since shut down the claims that an agreement is in place with any club from Saudi Arabia.

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This will no doubt come as a huge boost to Man City ahead of the new season as De Bruyne is still an integral player in Guardiola’s system.

Despite missing the first half of last season through injury, he still managed to produce 14 goal contributions in just 18 appearances.

“I’ve read a lot of headlines, but I haven’t spoken to anyone,” De Bruyne told Belgian publication HLN .

“I hope I can last a few more years. Everyone knows I’m under contract at City for another year. And that I haven’t talked to anyone yet. I assume there will be talks with City in the next few months.

“If not, I will have to look for something else. But it’s hard to say what will happen. My summer will be very quiet. I will enjoy my holidays. And then I will return to City.”

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Guardiola shuts down exit talk

When commenting on the speculation, Guardiola told reporters: “Kevin isn’t leaving.”

The Man City boss also went on to say that there’s a ‘95% chance’ that he’s working with the same group of players next season which could suggest the Premier League champions are in for a quiet transfer window.

“If someone leaves, we are going to talk about that and, of course, until the last day [of the transfer window] we have chances,” he said.

“I don’t rule out new players as an option, but I think there is an 85, 90, 95% chance we will have the same squad.”

While De Bruyne seems to be staying put for the time being, Man City have been preparing for his potential departure by targeting some of Europe’s best playmakers.

As revealed by TEAMtalk’s Rudy Galetti , the likes of Jamal Musiala, Joao Neves, Xavi Simons and Florian Wirtz have all been looked at as potential De Bruyne replacements.

However, as it now seems likely that the 33-year-old will be staying put, it seems like those transfer targets will be put on the back burner for the time being.

Fellow Man City star could still leave for Saudi Arabia

While De Bruyne looks set to stick around at the Etihad, the long-term future of Ederson is still deemed to be up in the air.

Al-Nassr had their bid rejected for the Brazilian goalkeeper, but fellow Saudi side Al-Ittihad have since entered the race to sign him.

However, according to Romano, there is still a ‘big gap in valuation’ between what Al-Ittihad are prepared to pay and what Man City value him at.

The Premier League champions are thought to be looking for a package of €50- €60m, but Al-Ittihad aren’t close to that number yet.

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