Pep Guardiola identifies Kevin De Bruyne's replacement as Manchester City boss plots summer swoop following midfielder's exit

Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City cannot regenerate Kevin De Bruyne arsenic the nine beforehand plans to motion Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.

De Bruyne’s 10-year enactment astatine the Etihad is ending this summer, becoming the last subordinate whose accomplishment pre-dates Guardiola’s reign to depart.

City person zeroed successful connected Wirtz, the Germany international, and volition effort to onshore the attacking midfielder implicit the coming months arsenic Guardiola reshapes his squad successful the anticipation of clawing backmost the Premier League crown.

‘The nine has to determination forward,’ the Spaniard said. ‘There are players who are unique, who correspond what the nine wants to be, and Kevin is 1 of them. Now it’s a shock, but radical volition retrieve however blessed they were to spot this benignant of player, who gave america perfectly everything. You tin lone beryllium grateful.

‘My play present volition ever person Kevin determination successful my memories. He cannot beryllium forgotten.’

Guardiola — who needs triumph astatine Old Trafford contiguous successful his conflict for Champions League qualification — claimed De Bruyne mightiness person prolonged his vocation astatine the apical level longer.

The City brag believes the all-action cognition the Belgian took contributed to the hamstring woes that helium has ne'er genuinely recovered from. ‘He’s been injured the past year-and-a-half due to the fact that helium gave everything for the club,’ Guardiola added. ‘It happened due to the fact that he’s fixed everything with his assemblage and mind.

‘There are things that cannot beryllium substituted. To accidental bye to this benignant of subordinate is truthful difficult. I’d emotion Vincent (Kompany) to beryllium present eternally, Sergio (Aguero), too, and present Kevin.

‘To accidental bye to these connections, these relations — for the manager, the mates, the fans — is not easy.’