Kevin De Bruyne has struggled a lot for game time this season and now reportedly faces talks with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola over his future at the club.
De Bruyne, who has started just 12 league games this season, is said to have accepted his lesser role this season as a rotation player and is waiting to hear what the decision will be regarding his contract, which for now is set to expire in June.
The report claims that he has acknowledged his limitations which suggests his journey with the Citizens may be coming to an end, despite his desire to remain beyond this season.
Kevin De Bruyne’s Time with Man City
De Bruyne joined the club in the summer transfer window of 2015 following a stellar season with Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg in which he accumulated 30 league goal contributions. The subsequent performances for Man City have been nothing short of magnificent with the Belgian international scoring 105 goals and providing 168 assists in 409 games.
During this time, De Bruyne has helped his side win six Premier League titles, five league cups, two FA Cups, one club World Cup and one Champions League. Few other players have seen this level of success at any club.
Kevin De Bruyne’s Recent Struggles
In recent times, football has been less kind to De Bruyne. Last season, the midfielder was absent from 30 games while he recovered from a hamstring injury and other issues such as fitness saw him miss an additional six.
The struggle for appearances has, unfortunately, carried into this season for Kevin, although this time it is also for tactical and medical reasons. A hamstring muscle injury has kept him away from the pitch for 10 matches but it also appears to be a simple matter of team selection that has kept De Bruyne on the bench, with no starts in the FA Cup so far and just 17 total starts combined from the Premier League and Champions League.
It is hard to blame Pep Guardiola for these decisions, though, with De Bruyne not matching up to his usual standards. He has provided just nine goal contributions in his 27 games this season.
For reference, despite last season being hampered by injuries, De Bruyne contributed 23 goals and assists in 26 games and achieved 38 in the season before that in a campaign unimpacted by injuries.
Taking into account the fact that De Bruyne’s contract expires at the end of this season, his drop in performance levels and appearances, and the heavy toll his presence takes on the wage bill, it may be the right decision for Guardiola to finally relinquish one of his best ever players.
Who Will Replace Him?
Despite his lack of game time this season, it is still hard to deny that De Bruyne is an important asset to the club who will need to be adequately replaced. Florian Wirtz appears to be an option that City may well turn to according to reports.
The German international has thrived this season for Bayer Leverkusen under head coach Xabi Alonso with a total of 27 goal contributions so far. The attacking midfielder is also capable of featuring as a winger and so brings to the table flexibility which Guardiola will no doubt value.
What Pep decides to do with Kevin De Bruyne is still yet to be seen. He may still decide to offer a new contract.
But with him nearing 34 years of age, it may be the best course of action for all parties that De Bruyne departs from the Etihad Stadium for good.