Man City eye Premier League midfielder as potential Kevin De Bruyne replacement | OneFootball

Manchester City are weighing up options to replace Kevin De Bruyne as the Belgian nears the end of an era-defining ten-year spell at the Etihad Stadium.

De Bruyne will leave City when his contract expires this summer, moving into the tail-end of his career and struggling with how injuries in recent years have affected performance levels.

"It was not easy for me to tell him it won't continue," Pep Guardiola explained last week, confirming it was the club's decision not to offer De Bruyne a fresh deal. The Belgian has been linked with a whole host of sides across the globe, with Inter Miami the latest potential landing spot to emerge.

A squad rebuild has already started, with Nico Gonzalez recruited to boost the midfield in January. But City have to work through how to best replace De Bruyne, whether that be reworking existing options – likely Phil Foden – from within or pursuing outside targets.

City have long been linked with Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, a player the Bundesliga club are confident will sign a new contract. But Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White is another being considered, according to The Athletic.

Gibbs-White has been a standout player this season / Marc Atkins/GettyImages

The report notes that City want to allow new director of football Hugo Viana, spotted sat alongside the departing Txiki Begiristain during the Manchester derby on Sunday, to get his feet fully under the table before prioritising transfer strategy.

Gibbs-White has come into his own since joining Forest in 2022. The Under-17 World Cup winner had enjoyed a breakout season with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2018/19, but his game time was dialled back the following campaign, during which he was also disciplined by the club for breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules. The eventual transfer to Forest raised eyebrows at the time because it was worth up to £42m off the back of a season on loan in the Championship, albeit a good one.

The 25-year-old has been a huge reason why Forest are on course to qualify for the Champions League and return to European football’s top table next season for the first time in more than 40 years. Working his way into the senior England squad in September also saw Gibbs-White become the first Forest player to turn out for the Three Lions in almost 30 years.