Wife of Manchester City star begins house hunting as summer transfer exit nears | OneFootball

A reported search for a new family home this summer has sparked excitement in Italian media over the prospect of Kevin De Bruyne making the switch to Serie A.

The long-standing Manchester City midfielder will be free to join a club of his choice among an expectedly long list of potential suitors come the summer, after Etihad Stadium bosses opted not to offer renewed terms to the Belgian.

It comes as Hugo Viana and Txiki Begiristain plot their next steps in the transfer market as they look to get Manchester City back on track in a competitive sense across competitions having endured a hugely difficult campaign.

As such, it was deemed appropriate to cut short their working relationship with De Bruyne at this stage in their contract, with the veteran creator’s contract – which is believed to be worth in excess of £400,000-per-week – expiring at the end of the season.

Confirmation of the player’s pending exit from the Etihad Stadium has resulted in widespread reporting concerning his next club, with links to interest emerging from Major League Soccer in the United States, Saudi Arabia, and now within Europe itself.

The latest team to be considered and seemingly confirmed as an interested party in Kevin De Bruyne is Serie A giants Napoli, and that interest has been reciprocated from the side of the Belgium international – if the latest indications are to be believed.

According to the information of Gazzetta dello Sport, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, Kevin De Bruyne’s wife Michele has travelled to Naples recently and started looking for an apartment in the city.

The De Bruyne family are said to share a strong bond with the city of Naples having visited multiple times on holiday, while the couple also chose nearby Sorrento as their wedding venue.

Additional reporting from Corriere dello Sport further that suggestion as they state the De Bruyne family know Naples very well and furthering the idea of Michele visiting to search for homes.

For the time being, the latest understanding from Italian media is that Napoli are looking to offer the Manchester City captain a two-year contract and significant bonuses on top, with talks ongoing and optimism growing from the side of the Serie A club.

De Bruyne is yet to be quizzed on the prospect of Napoli interest and as such his stance on his future remains the same; the player is open to all possibilities including the idea of remaining in European football beyond the end of this season.

There has also been tenuous claims of transfer interest from Aston Villa and Liverpool within the Premier League, largely in light of De Bruyne failing to deny the idea of staying in the English top-flight beyond his time at Manchester City.

However, the common understanding in various quarters is that such a move is unlikely at this stage given the interest elsewhere, while Manchester City officials remain keen to honour De Bruyne’s service at the club through a statue outside the Etihad Stadium.