An Italian and American club are seriously competing for Kevin De Bruyne’s signature as a free agent, talkSPORT understands.
Serie A leaders Napoli and MLS outfit Chicago Fire are both seen as the frontrunners for the 33-year-old who said goodbye to Manchester City’s home supporters on Tuesday night.
De Bruyne could end up staying in Sky Blue with Napoli one of the frontrunners for his signatureGettyThere will be competition for De Bruyne’s signature given his status as one of the Premier League’s greatest ever midfielders and that he’s a free agent.
Yet talkSPORT understands that he’s prioritising staying in Europe over a big money move to MLS or the Saudi Pro League, and reports that Saudi club NEOM SC came close to signing him are not true.
The Belgian is also prioritising his family when it comes to his next location, while he has an eye on the 2026 World Cup despite earlier retirement threats.
Those factors stack the odds against Chicago, but he’s also looking for a lighter workload in relation to starring for Belgium, with MLS sides playing far fewer than the European elite.
De Bruyne is asking for a salary in the region of £12million per-year, or £230,000 per-week, almost half what he was being paid at City as one of their greatest ever players.
There is also a small chance that De Bruyne’s City career may not yet be over, and that if a new side agrees he could feature for Pep Guardiola at the Club World Cup after signing a two-week contract extension.
All of those factors suggest that Napoli may be liking their chances, particularly as they’ve already qualified for next season’s Champions League.
Napoli are shock league leaders in Antonio Conte’s first season at the club, and have to match Inter Milan’s result on the final matchday to become champions.
Conte has had huge success with bringing in Premier League talent including Scott McTominay, Romelu Lukaku, Billy Gilmour, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Philip Billing have all been crucial in their title charge.
Yet it shouldn’t just be the Serie A leaders that want De Bruyne, but the Premier League champions too, according to Danny Murphy.
Conte’s winning formula at Napoli has been an ex-Premier League influxGetty In De Bruyne he’d be getting one of the best to ever do it De Bruyne could make his farewell Premier League appearance when City face Fulham at Craven Cottage on SundayGettyWhen discussing the Belgian’s next landing spot, the talkSPORT host said: “Get him to Anfield on a free, they’ve got 60 games a season, he could come in as a ten.”
When co-host Simon Jordan sounded sceptical, Murphy referred to videos of a young De Bruyne saying he supported Liverpool and Michael Owen was his favourite player.
He continued: “Have you not seen interviews from when he was a kid? It was all Liverpool.
“I think as you get older maybe he’s okay to accept that (a non-starting role). Would you rather do that or go and play every week at a team that’s not going to win?
“It would be a bit like when they bought [Gary] McAllister in, I know he wasn’t at De Bruyne’s level but when he signed there were so many people saying ‘What the hell are they doing? Bringing in a 35-year-old from Coventry?’”
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