How do Man City replace Kevin De Bruyne? Five transfer options for Pep Guardiola

Kevin De Bruyne is expected to lead out Manchester City as captain in Saturday's FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

It will be the Belgium playmaker's final outing at Wembley in City colours, following the announcement last month that he will leave the Etihad Stadium at the end of this season.

Over the past decade, City have proved adept at replacing club greats, with Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Sergio Aguero all departing to great fanfare as Pep Guardiola's trophy-winning machine rumbled on.

But after a couple of poor summers in the transfer market and their worst Premier League campaign under Guardiola in 2024/25, the pressure is on new director of football Hugo Viana to come up with the goods.

Kevin De Bruyne's Man City replacement: Five options for Pep Guardiola

Florian Wirtz

This is clearly priority No. 1 for City, especially after the Germany international's parents reportedly visited Manchester in the week leading up to the cup final for talks with City's hierarchy. Bayern Munich were the presumed favourites for Wirtz's signature, but with both Man City and Liverpool also purported to hold an interest, Wirtz is poised to be the transfer story of the summer.

A genuinely world-class attacking midfield signing with his best years ahead of him, in the American parlance, the plan is to make Wirtz a "franchise" signing to be the face of City alongside Erling Haaland for much of the next decade.

Morgan Gibbs-White

Viana might oversee an unusually busy close-season of flux in Manchester, even allowing for the added complication of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup. Feasibly, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and John Stones could all leave, which would leave City tight when it comes to the Premier League's homegrown quota. That wouldn't be the only reason for signing England international Gibbs-White, whose physicality and dynamism would offset an obvious shortfall among the club's current midfield options.

A De Bruyne-esque assist in Forest's 2-2 draw with Leicester feathered speculation around Gibbs-White nicely. Depending on where City and Forest finish in the European shake-up, this might be a deal Guardiola hopes to have completed, irrespective of whether Wirtz arrives.

Rodrygo 

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Replacing the biggest names at Guardiola's City is not always a linear process. Sergio Aguero left as the club's all-time top scorer and they successfully negotiated chunks of the following two seasons using false-nines. If a player of Wirtz's calibre can't be secured, Guardiola and Viana could look towards another area of need — a wide attacker who is a natural goalscorer and comfortable on the right wing.

Rodrygo was mentioned in dispatches around City 12 months ago and appears to have fallen from favour as Real Madrid's season disintegrated down the stretch. This signing would also give Phil Foden the chance to bounce back from a personally disappointing campaign and take up De Bruyne's mantle as he did so brilliantly in 2023/24.

Eberechi Eze

Eze was linked to City in 2023 before they opted to go in other directions in an ill-judged window following their treble success. It appears there are other priorities now, but Guardiola is clearly an admirer. A player of Eze's type would be handy if Grealish's race in Manchester is run, and he would also tick the homegrown box. If Palace's star playmaker can bring Guardiola's men to their knees at Wembley, another round of speculation might follow.

Cole Palmer

This is a wildcard option and one that is not at all likely. Palmer is the one who got away from City's feted youth academy, having established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League at Chelsea.

If the Wirtz deal doesn't happen and that money is burning a hole in City's pocket, it might be worth seeing if Todd Boehly has a price. The relentless transfer activity since the American became chairman and co-controlling owner at Stamford Bridge suggests he probably does.