Kevin De Bruyne completes full agreement to join Napoli on free transfer | OneFootball

Manchester City have now seen their legendary club captain Kevin De Bruyne complete his exit away from the Etihad Stadium, as per reporting over the weekend.

The development comes just weeks after the 33-year-old played his final competitive match under Pep Guardiola, securing Manchester City a future in the UEFA Champions League ahead of the new campaign.

De Bruyne remained the ultimate focussed professional that he has always been, announcing his exit during the crucial season run-in following discussions with City officials, who informed the midfielder of their decision not to extend his contract beyond June 2025.

While maintaining a high level of performance, De Bruyne and his family weighed up the options in front of them, with consistent talk of interest from Major League Soccer in the United States and Saudi Arabia’s Pro League.

But amid a clear desire to maintain his place at the very summit of European football, proposals from the top-five leagues – with the exception of the English Premier League – on the continent were of most interest.

And now, it appears as though Kevin De Bruyne‘s next steps in the game will take him to the very top of Italian football and a move to Serie A’s newly-crowned league champions coached by Antonio Conte and boasting a star-studded squad already.

According to the information of journalist Sacha Tavolieri, De Bruyne can now be considered as a Napoli player, with a full agreement reached between all parties, while a medical and official announcement is expected next week.

The finalised move for the creative midfielder will now only intensify conversation surrounding who could come into Pep Guardiola’s squad ahead of the new season and take on some of the attacking threat held by the Belgium international.

Manchester City had at first identified Florian Wirtz as their go-to option for the role, but ultimately exited the chase for the Bayer Leverkusen star owing to concerns over the finances involved in any potential agreement.

As such, it seems as though the intentions of club bosses have firmly switched to French football and Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, who is believed to be valued at around €40 million, while interest is being maintained in Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has already signalled the internal belief that deals for new players are being aimed for completion prior to the FIFA Club World Cup, which gets underway in two weeks time.

“We’ve clearly identified who exactly are the targets, in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option,” Al Mubarak told the club’s in-house media team.

“We’ll go about our business, it will be very clear, very swift,” he added. “Our objective is to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”