Manchester City linked with summer swoop for Wolfsburg star

That form has piqued Manchester City’s curiosity, and according to the Telegraph, they’re plotting a £30 million move to bring De Bruyne back to England as a “priority summer target.” Wolfsburg, of course, are in no hurry to sell; since they’re owned and backed by Volkswagen, they’re not hurting for finances like many clubs are, which is why it would take such a premium fee for them to part with one of their best players. Manchester City love them a premium fee, though, as Wolfsburg learned in 2011, when the English club ponied up £27 million for Edin Dzeko.

De Bruyne is versatile and dynamic, capable of playing in several midfield positions. That’s the perfect way to break into a crowded City midfield that includes David Silva, Yaya Touré, Samir Nasri and Jesús Navas. Like many City players, De Bruyne is just as capable both at creating chances for others and taking them himself, which in theory could help him adjust to the squad quicker as he’d be able to fit in more easily on the pitch.

It’d also be a good chance for De Bruyne to test himself at the highest levels of English football again after not making the cut at Chelsea. After two years of loans, De Bruyne was finally given a chance in the first team at Chelsea under newly returned manager Jose Mourinho, but only played three unconvincing matches in the league before being shipped off to Germany. De Bruyne has always seemed to be itching to set that record straight, and a move to City could be just the ticket.

Despite his versatility, De Bruyne is far and away better at playing behind the striker than he is in any other role. That job, however, is currently and very firmly held by David Silva, who is a little fragile at times but is definitely a superior player to De Bruyne. He’s not good enough at either wing to supplant Nasri or Navas or whatever other star City bring in to the wide areas next summer, which would relegate De Bruyne to being a very, very expensive super-sub.

City already have one of those in James Milner, but De Bruyne lacks the tireless work rate and defensive quality that Milner offers. He could replace Frank Lampard, who City apparently feel is the mold from which De Bruyne was cast as far as his goalscoring potential from midfield, but £30 million for an attacking sub and domestic cup starter is really expensive for a team that already got slapped with a harder-than-expected penalty for Financial Fair Play violations last summer.

Without FFP around, this is exactly the kind of “young attacking star in the making” move City would have made a couple of years ago. With FFP and De Bruyne’s limitations as far as how he fits in the squad for playing time, though, it’s hard to see the logic in the move for City, unless they do something crazy like sell David Silva.

Even if they do that, though, you have to think they could probably do better for De Bruyne for that kind of money. It’s not that he’s a bad player, not by any stretch, it’s just that he’s probably not good enough to justify a £30 million price tag. Still, City are just crazy enough to make a move like this despite all the reasons it doesn’t add up, so we’re giving this one a 5 out of 10.