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Transfers
Agent claims no Manchester City transfer talks yet for potential Kevin de Bruyne replacement
Could this be the final year at Manchester City for six-time Premier League champion Kevin de Bruyne?
Is the brilliant Belgian about to bring the curtain down on a truly extraordinary career in sky blue? With his contract expiring in 2025, TBR understands that Kevin de Bruyne wil🍌l likely have offers from Saudiꦬ Arabia and MLS newcomers San Diego FC.
And, in truth, even without his contract running down, there are serious qu🥃estions now that need to be asked about De Bruyne’s longevity.
Manchester City’s long-serving talisman has only started five Premier League matches this season. He started just 15 last term as well, while Kevin De Bruyne’s 33rd birthday has already come and gone.
So, with 2025 looking likely to be a transition one at City even if Pep Guardiola’s new deal ensures💟 he will be staying put, discussions appear to have turned to potential De Bruyne replacements.
Manchester City move played down for Russia starlet Aleksey Batrakov
TBR understands that Man City like Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala; the two German whizzkids going head-to-head for the Bundesliga title at Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. City are fans of Shakhtar ✱Donetsk playmaker Georgiy Suda꧑kov too.
Ukraine star Sudakov is a huge De Bruyne fan, meanwhile, and admitted this week that he would be interested in a move t🅺o England𒊎.
Another player who has been mentione🐈🌃d in conjunction with the 2023 Treble winners is Aleksey Batrakov.
The Lokomotiv Moscow star’s agent recently claimed that he can envisage his client representing City at some point. Vladimir Kuzmichev even feels that Guardiola ‘would be inte💖rested’ in ꦺbringing the Russia wonderkid to the Etihad, with Batrakov’s fierce ball-striking, versatility and technical qualities making him the sort of football꧙er the former Barcelona boss admires.
Kuzmꦏichev, however, insists that this is purely hypothetical at this st♋age.
Batrakov’s cam𒈔p plan to approach Man City about a potential switch later down the line. But, as things stand, this interest is only coming from one direction.
“There is no confirmed information about City’s interest in Al🌠exey yet,” Kuzmichev now tells , attempting to quell the speculation he started.
“As far as I kn😼ow, there has been no contact with either the club or the pl🍸ayer’s side.
“Of course, any professio𝐆nal footballer dreams of working with Guardiola. [Manchester City are] a big club with a great coach, and a coach who sets the game for his teams according to𓄧 a philosophy that is close to Alexey. And [Man City’s style is something] Batrakov knows how to play.”
Batrakov’s Lokomotiv Moscow exit likely to come in 2026
Batrakov, 14 years De 🔯Bruyne’s junior and still a teenager, has a hugely impressive 10 goals from 16 Russian Premier League games this season. Across all competitions, his tally stands at 13 goals and nine assists in 26 appearances.
Kuzmichev accepts, however𝄹, that Batrakov is not ready yet to make the step up to a 🌜major European institution.
“It would be unprofessional to agree to any cond♌itions in order to let Alexey go,” the agent said in November. “We absolutely mus🐽t try to keep the player [in Moscow] this and next season.
“We understand that, sooner or laterꦆ, Aleksey may agree on an offer from a big European club. [But] he has a long-term contract. It is unlikely that t𝔉he club will consider any offer today.
“But anything can happen in our life.🌞 Let’s say Barcelona comes and offers a crazy amount, maybe the Lokomotiv management will waver.”