4 months ago
24 Whilst Kevin De Bruyne may be looking to bolster his wealth with a financially savvy switch to Saudi Arabia this summer, or another, it won’t spell the end of the world for Manchester City.
In fact, there’s every possibility that such an exit in the near future may be to the Sky Blues’ advantage.
It has now emerged that Bayern Munich fear Etihad-linked Jamal Musiala could be tempted away from the Allianz Arena. This comes amid ongoing contract struggles around Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich, with the pair currently set to depart as free agents in the summer of 2025.
There’s a real concern about what impact that would have on the German international’s future in Munich.
“Bayern do have one additional concern in Jamal Musiala – they don’t want to lose their big talent. However, if Kimmich and Davies leaves, the level of the team will suffer as a result, which is a point of concern for Musiala; he wants a team like Jude Bellingham has at Real Madrid where you can compete for the Champions League title every year. So, Bayern Munich has to do something if they don’t want to lose him,” Christian Falk informed CaughtOffside in his exclusive Fact Files column.
“There is an idea at Manchester City to try and sign him as the successor of Kevin De Bruyne. I don’t know if the Belgian international will leave this summer or in the next, but the story of De Bruyne at Manchester City is coming to an end.
“Musiala grew up in England and I think he’s always got one eye on the Premier League, so this would be the next big danger for Bayern Munich. If they lose him and didn’t sign Xavi Simons, then they would have to go for Florian Wirtz, which would be very expensive.”
The former Chelsea academy prospect has been in sensational form for club and country in 2023/24. 20 goal contributions were plundered across all competitions for Bayern Munich in 38 games. This was followed up with a further three goals in five games played at this year’s European Championship.
Could Kevin De Bruyne leave Manchester City soon?
Kevin De Bruyne’s Euros campaign with Belgium disappointed – (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)Sources close to CaughtOffside have already confirmed the City skipper is “strongly considering” life in the Middle East.
Al-Ittihad, we understand, are leading the pack, though there’s also interest from Saudi Pro League rivals Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal to consider.
Given that he could stand to earn a whopping €180m if he made the switch to the former of the trio, you could understand the temptation underlining such a potential switch.
Of course, it’s a move that would represent a double-edged sword for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Losing a player of De Bruyne’s calibre would, no doubt, be a hard one to get over given the 33-year-old’s status as a modern-day Premier League great.
Who better to attempt to fill those sizeable boots than one of the most promising talents in world football in Jamal Musiala?
Your move, Bayern.
