Kevin De Bruyne agrees personal terms with Manchester City
Posted Saturday, August 22, 2015 by theguardian.com
• Belgian set to be Manuel Pellegrini’s fifth major buy this summer
• Move depends on Wolfsburg accepting bid in region of £50m
Wolfsburg’s Belgium midfielder Kevin De Bruyne seems Manchester City-bound.
Kevin De Bruyne has agreed personal terms with Manchester City, with the deal to make the Belgian Manuel Pellegrini’s fifth major acquisition of the summer now dependent on the club offering a fee that is acceptable to Wolfsburg.
The German club’s position is that they do not have any financial imperative to sell De Bruyne. City acknowledge this but believe a third bid of £50-55m should secure De Bruyne’s signature.
The 24-year-old is thought to have been offered a five-year contract worth in the region of £200,000 a week. De Bruyne is keen to make the move back to the Premier League after his failed stint at Chelsea. He departed the west London club for Wolfsburg after two years in January 2014.
De Bruyne failed to establish himself at Chelsea. Despite a stellar talent there were doubts about his willingness to fight for a place in the side. Jose Mourinho believed he had the potential to be good enough for his strongest XI. But he wanted De Bruyne to fight for a starting berth rather than assume this should be guaranteed.
Pellegrini has so far bought Raheem Sterling for £49m, Fabian Delph (£8m), Patrick Roberts (£11m) and Nicolas Otamendi, who cost £32m when he signed on Thursday.
Should De Bruyne finally arrive for £50m City’s total spend for the summer – including the £2m spent on 18-year-old Enes Unal – would reach £152m.
Photos
More»[PICTURE SPECIAL] Manchester United 3 - 2 Newcastle
Thursday May 16 2024[PICTURE SPECIAL] Tottenham 0-2 Man City
Wednesday May 15 2024
Your Say