Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has spoken out about the club’s interest in Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, stating that the Belgian playmaker should stay with the German side for another season and not rush his desired move to the Premier League.
City have been linked with De Bruyne for some time, and a bid in the region of £50 million is thought to be in the making. It is understood that City are waiting on the outcome of De Bruyne’s contract talks before launching this proposed bid for a player who helped Wolfsburg to a second-place finish in the Bundesliga last season and a domestic cup victory over Borussia Dortmund; scoring 10 goals in 34 appearances.
But former Wolfsburg striker Dzeko believes he would benefit most from one more year in Germany.
Dzeko had this to say to German magazine Kicker: “Top players like Kevin De Bruyne won’t stay at Wolfsburg forever,”
“Everybody dreams of one day playing for a leading international club. It was the same with me after we won the league in 2009- I had the desire to do something different,”
“Kevin has an advantage. Through his time at Chelsea he knows the Premier League and knows that it’s completely different [from the Bundesliga],”
“A lot of players who excelled in other leagues have had problems here- take Angel Di Maria,”
“I’m certain that [Kevin] has what it takes to play for one of the top clubs in Europe but he’s also aware that at these clubs there are 20 top players who always want to be on the pitch,”
“Maybe it would also help him if he plays in the Champions League with Wolfsburg this season and takes another step in his development there.”
Negotiations with De Bruyne seem to have been accelerating in recent days. It was being reported in a number of national newspapers that a deal could be completed by the end of this week, shortly after the signing of Raheem Sterling on Tuesday. But these comments from Dzeko may influence the youngster, who is weighing up his options after an impressive season, with City favourites to sign him.
Edin himself may be heading in the opposite direction after it was reported that Roma had tabled a bid in the region of £16 million for the Bosnian striker.
