Manchester City opened their treble defence with a victory over Burnley, but it was a bittersweet result. The win came at the expense of star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne. Now, De Bruyne could be absent from the City lineup for the rest of the year, leaving a hole that will be hard to fill.
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Manchester City Contemplating How Best to Replace Kevin de Bruyne
What Guardiola Said
While the Belgian has not left the team, nor could the European champions find a replacement that is as skilled as he is, coach Pep Guardiola still understands the need to take appropriate action. Not overspending on any potential midfielder is going to be the key principle during the last two weeks of the summer.
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“We have to see what happens in the market and if we can do it and to pay what we believe is fair,” said Guardiola according to ESPN FC. “My opinion is I like a small squad. But the blow from Kevin changes the perspective.” The Spaniard wants to fill the void left by his prized Belgian, but only on his terms.
Within the Squad
The Citizens did not win the Premier League last year by luck alone. Rotation depth provided their manager with an array of skilled footballers so that if someone went down, like de Bruyne, the team would not be dependent on one big loss. It could be that the treble winners look internally for a temporary fix.
One young player who has been stating his case very loudly this year is Cole Palmer. Palmer, who scored in both the Community Shield loss to Arsenal and a UEFA Super Cup victory over Sevilla, believes he is the player who can assume the essential play-making role that De Bruyne possesses when on the pitch.
Players outside the City Roster
As the Citizens are able to spend big on their transfers, they are capable of pursuing a broad pool of players to replace their fallen talisman. One such player is RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Dani Olmo. Fabrizio Romano has reported that the Spaniard was throwing ice on the deal, but a Goal report that also cited Romano said that Leipzig have set a very achievable £68 million price tag for the young star.
Another possible De Bruyne substitution is Bayer Leverkusen youngster Florian Wirtz. Wirtz’s youth, at only 20 years old, could prevent him from being an immediate starter. Despite his success in the Bundesliga, the transition to the Premier League coupled with a previous ACL injury make him appear a squad depth addition rather than a starting eleven regular.
Life without De Bruyne
Currently, regardless of what happens in the transfer market, City are without their star man. Guardiola is known for his eccentric tactics that normally bring his side success, but losing a player of De Bruyne’s quality at the beginning of the season has him and club officials stressing.
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