Kevin De Bruyne snubbed interest from Premier League clubs as Manchester City exit nears | OneFootball

West Ham United made a late attempt to tempt Kevin De Bruyne to the London Stadium as the Manchester City midfielder nears a move to Napoli, as per a new report.

The 33-year-old played his final game in a Manchester City shirt against Fulham on the last day of the Premier League campaign as goals from Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland secured a 2-0 victory and third-placed league finish for Pep Guardiola’s side.

De Bruyne was told in early April he was not part of the club’s plans beyond the expiration of his current deal in June, which saw the Belgium international break a long-standing silence on his future and announce the club’s decision across his social media channels.

The six-time Premier League champion had admitted to have been left shocked by the club’s decision to not offer him an extension as Manchester City look to rebuild with the help of four to five first-team additions ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White features high on Manchester City’s wishlist for the summer transfer window and the 2023 treble winners are working on a deal to sign the 25-year-old England international after agreeing personal terms.

AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders is also highly rated at the Etihad Stadium and the Blues are expected to make a formal bid for the Dutch midfielder, who is sold on the idea of joining forces with Pep Guardiola in Manchester.

After withdrawing interest in Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz, who prefers to join newly-crowned English champions Liverpool, Manchester City are identifying alternative additions to their attack to challenge on all fronts next term.

Meanwhile, De Bruyne is expected to complete and announce his move to Napoli in the next fortnight after telling club bosses he does not want to play in Manchester City colours at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.

talkSPORT have reported that West Ham and Aston Villa were two clubs in the Premier League to have made enquiries over the possibility of signing De Bruyne as a free agent when his current Manchester City deal would expire in June.

However, despite not being offered a new deal by Manchester City, De Bruyne decided against joining another Premier League club when assessing offers and is widely expected to complete a two-year move to Napoli in early June.

De Bruyne is also believed to have rejected the opportunity to sign for clubs in the Major League Soccer (MLS) and Saudi Pro League (SPL) – which were deemed as likely destinations for the Belgian when talk of an exit from the Etihad Stadium gained momentum in recent months.

The playmaker was given an emotional sendoff on his final home appearance at the Etihad Stadium after a 3-1 win against Bournemouth last week – and the club’s loyal away fans also gave De Bruyne a brilliant ovation after the win against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday.