Man City told they need to sell De Bruyne ‘sooner rather than later’ as PL-based replacement is named

Man City should think about selling Kevin de Bruyne “sooner rather than later”, according to former Citizens goalkeeper David James.

The Belgium international has been linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer as Saudi Arabian clubs have shown interest in De Bruyne.

Some reports even claimed that the Man City midfielder had ‘agreed’ personal terms with a Saudi Arabian side and the 33-year-old hinted at a potential move earlier this year.

De Bruyne said: “At my age, you have to be open to everything. You’re talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career.

“Sometimes you have to think about that. If I play there [Saudi Arabia] for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money. Before that I had to play football for 15 years.

“I may not even reach that amount yet. Then you have to think about what that could mean next. But at the moment I haven’t had to think about that yet.”

But Pep Guardiola has confirmed that De Bruyne won’t be departing Man City this summer, he commented from their tour in the United States: “Kevin isn’t leaving.”

Guardiola added: “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.”

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But former Man City keeper James insists that the Premier League champions “need to sell” De Bruyne soon if they intend to allow him to leave at some point.

James told fairbettingsites.co.uk: “It’s funny how the Euros can catapult players into the public domain, but on the flip side not do a player’s reputation any favours. It wasn’t a great tournament for Belgium and Kevin De Bruyne.

“Things were going so well for him – winning the treble at Manchester City and the Club World Cup – so to underperform at the Euros and get knocked out early was obviously a disappointment for him.

“I would love to see him stay at Manchester City because he’s been pivotal in their success over recent years. However, there is a point where – especially if you know people who have been playing out in Saudi Arabia and have said good things about it – if the club are going to move him on, then they should do it sooner rather than later, because it would allow everyone some time to adjust to it.

“De Bruyne is so important in that City side and somebody is going to need to replace him, so for the sake of the team, they need to sell him soon if they ultimately decide to.”

And James reckons Man City should replace De Bruyne by bringing in Crystal Palace attacker Eberechi Eze , who went to Euro 2024 with Gareth Southgate’s England side.

James added: “I think Eberechi Eze is a fantastic player. There’s a confidence in his play which he demonstrated in the Euros that is difficult to teach. He just seems like he wants to be playing at the top level.

“There seems to be a lot of arrogance and ability among some of those Crystal Palace players, and it looks like he knows where he’s meant to be and where he fits in.

“The precursor for Manchester City is that if De Bruyne were to move on, then someone like Eze would be easier to approach and sign. I think he’s someone who would definitely enhance any team in the Premier League, including City if the opportunity came around.”