If Manchester City fans have learned anything over the last few years, it is that their team contains plenty of star names, but there are a few who they simply can’t be without.
This season has been the epitome of that, with Pep Guardiola’s side losing defensive midfielder Rodri to a knee injury back in September and looking like a shadow of the team that has won the last four Premier League titles in a row as a result.
Another player they would and have struggled to be without at times is Kevin De Bruyne, who has been central to their recent run of success.
Time and again, he has provided a spark when one has been required, and there have been plenty of matches in which his presence has made the difference between a victory and either a draw or a defeat.
However, that quality has drawn interest from elsewhere, and reports are now linking the Belgium playmaker with other teams.
In particular, the MLS (newcomers San Diego FC are reportedly very keen on acquiring his services) and Saudi Pro League have been strongly rumoured as potential destinations for him, and there is now a possibility that De Bruyne’s time at the Etihad Stadium may be nearing its end.
It is important to stress that these are only rumours at this moment, and nothing has been finalised yet.
There is also a good chance that the Belgium playmaker will opt to turn down a move elsewhere and extend his stay at Manchester City beyond the summer.
However, even if that does happen, the question will remain as to how long that will be, and it is for that reason that this tactical analysis will look at just how prepared Manchester City are for permanent life without their captain.
The scout report will first detail the key traits that he brings to their play before assessing other midfielders currently at the club.
The analysis will also suggest a few transfer targets they could consider if they decide that none of those on their books could adequately replicate what De Bruyne has given them over the years.
Kevin De Bruyne Scout Report
When watching KDB work his magic around the field, there is no doubt that he is a league above all others.
His vision and awareness allow him to locate space and make passes that others simply aren’t capable of.
For this reason, he has become such an integral cog in the Etihad Stadium machine, and Man City do not pose the same level of offensive threat without him in the side.
Kevin De Bruyne Statistics 2024/2025
This is reflected when breaking down Kevin de Bruyne statistics, with it apparent in this graphic just how wide-ranging his passing truly is.
As can be seen, he ranks within the top band in percentile terms for received passes, passes and dangerous passes made per game, which implies that he is capable of getting on the ball and making things happen.
This has allowed his partnership with former Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland to flourish at the top of the field.
The latter player is able to make the runs behind opposing defensive lines, which he has become known for, and he knows that De Bruyne will find him when he does so.
This is not to say, though, that connecting different areas of the team is his only contribution to Manchester City’s tactics.
Instead, he has also proven to be a key attacking threat, with his shots taken per game ranking within the top two bands.
This suggests that he is happy to test his own luck and to set up teammates in his vicinity.
This, too, is what has made him such a tricky opponent.
Defenders never know if he will pass the ball or shoot at goal himself, so they struggle to set themselves up to stifle his threat.
He might not be the most prolific goal scorer in the Manchester City ranks at this moment in time, with his goal tallies decreasing over the last four campaigns (he netted 15 goals in the 2021/22 Premier League season, before scoring seven, four and two in the following three), but that is nothing that should lead to any great concern.
Instead, it reflects the fact that his role in the team has been altering over time.
He now sits deeper than he used to and does not register as many touches inside the opposing penalty area as he did when he first arrived from Wolfsburg in 2015 (a point highlighted in the graphic).
With this in mind, any player who replaced De Bruyne would need to be capable of offering a goal threat and making the same creative decisions that the Belgian has become known for.
This will not be easy to find in a player, with it often the case that they are good at one of those but not both, but it has at least given Manchester City a profile they can now try to match someone to.
Manchester City’s Current Options To Replace Kevin De Bruyne
As mentioned, Manchester City may not need to rush to sign a new player to fill the role that Kevin De Bruyne could vacate this summer.
They already have a well-stocked midfield with different types of players who could step up to replace him, and Guardiola could feel he already has the right player in his arsenal to replace De Bruyne should the latter opt to move on.
Bernardo Silva Statistics 2024/2025
One of those that he could turn to is Bernardo Silva, who is perhaps the most obvious player to step in regarding the game’s attacking side.
While he can and has operated in a wider role at times, Guardiola tends to favour wingers capable of taking opponents on in 1-v-1 duels and has generally relied upon Jérémy Doku and Savinho to fill those positions.
As a result, traditional attacking midfielders have been freed up to operate further inside the pitch, where Silva has always been at his best.
He might be one of those to have come in for criticism this season as Manchester City have struggled for form, but the statistics in this graphic indicate that he still ranks highly in the percentile for received passes and passes made per game.
Therefore, he does have the raw capabilities needed to fit into the De Bruyne mould.
At the same time, his high percentile ranking for touches inside the opposing penalty area suggests that he would look to get forward more than De Bruyne has recently, and that could appeal to Guardiola, given his recent tactical adjustments.
Since Omar Marmoush’s January arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt, he has sought to set his team up as a 4-2-3-1.
This allows Marmoush to alternate with Haaland and to give Manchester City different dimensions to their final third play.
If Silva were deployed in a similar area of the field, he could add that and make the same runs that Marmoush does now and De Bruyne has done in previous campaigns.
Mateo Kovačić Statistics 2024/2025
However, what could let Silva down is his lack of end product, with De Bruyne making those runs forward and both shooting and scoring.
However, Silva’s statistics show that he ranks lower down in percentile terms for the number of shots on goal that he has registered.
He also might rank higher than De Bruyne for passing accuracy, but he lacks his teammate’s same range of passing.
As a result, another player that Guardiola might look to is Mateo Kovačić.
The former Chelsea midfielder has tended to operate in the holding midfield role this season as Manchester City have sought to replace Rodri.
Still, he has never looked entirely comfortable in that position and is instead at his best when allowed to drift between the thirds in a roaming role.
This positional liberty made him such an intrinsic player at Stamford Bridge, and it could be that Guardiola now makes better use of the Croatia international’s technical abilities after the arrival of Nico González from Porto in January.
As this graphic shows, he particularly thrives at passing the ball around the field and ranks extremely highly in percentile terms for passes made per game and overall passing accuracy.
Therefore, when he gets on the ball, he could prove to be as reliable as De Bruyne has been at connecting the dots for Manchester City and shifting the ball into dangerous areas of the field.
The other thing that could make him a better fit for the role than Silva is that he has a higher ranking for shots on goal than the Portugal midfielder does.
They may come from further out, with him sitting lower down the bands for touches inside the penalty area.
Still, that, along with the fact that he has recorded more goal contributions per game, indicates that he would give Manchester City more passing quality and attacking threat than the Portuguese.
Therefore, he could be the ideal fit if De Bruyne were to leave in the summer.
Matheus Nunes Statistics 2024/2025
If there is one thing that could see Guardiola move away from using either Silva or Kovačić as a replacement for De Bruyne, it is their age.
Both are now 30 and so, like the 32-year-old Belgium captain, are nearer the end of their careers than the beginning.
As a result, using them could be seen as nothing more than a short-term fix, much like Liverpool‘s decision to replace the retiring 35-year-old Jamie Carragher with the 32-year-old Kolo Touré in 2013.
Instead, if he were looking for a longer-term solution, Matheus Nunes would be the player he could deploy in that role.
Since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Wolves in September 2023, the Portugal midfielder has been a bit-part player at best.
His quality is undeniable, but he never seems to fit into Guardiola’s system, as the Manchester City coach would have liked.
As a result, he has largely had to make do with appearances off the bench and being used in more unconventional roles at times, such as when he has featured at right-back, which is his only way to get minutes on the field.
As his statistics show, though, he has used that time to demonstrate his credentials as a progressive player who can make things happen.
What is especially noticeable in this graphic is how he offers a compromise between the passing statistics that Kovačić possesses and the attacking threat that Silva brings to the table.
This is shown through his ranking in the top band for touches inside the opposing penalty area and within the top two bands for dangerous passes and passes made.
His passing accuracy might be nearer the median point, but De Bruyne’s was lower down, too, so that shouldn’t be a reason to rule him out.
Instead, what should be drawn from this is that he has the raw ingredients needed to perform in that role and indicated in his single season at Molineux that he can be an efficient central third operator.
If De Bruyne were to depart the club this summer, it could be the break he has been looking for.
Alternative Targets For Kevin De Bruyne Replacement At Manchester City
However, there is no escaping the fact that Nunes is not a player that Guardiola seems to trust entirely at this moment in time, and there are still plenty of question marks as to whether he has a long-term future as a Manchester City player.
As a result, and with James McAtee and Claudio Echeverri (the other club players capable of slotting into that role) still learning their trade as emerging names, Guardiola could decide to cast his net further afield.
This analysis will now highlight three names that he could target.
Kevin De Bruyne Vs Ilias Sebaoui Statistics 2024/2025
The first player Manchester City could look at is Ilias Sebaoui, who is currently plying his trade for Heerenveen (on loan from Eredivisie rivals Feyenoord).
Whilst he operates predominantly as a left winger, he has also been known to play further inside the pitch if needed so that he could be a player Guardiola feels has the structural flexibility he tends to gravitate towards.
Looking at his statistics in this graphic, it is immediately evident that Sebaoui’s biggest strength is his offensive ability.
His highest characteristics in percentile terms are his shots and touches in the opposing penalty area per game.
As a result, whilst he sits below Kevin De Bruyne in both, he is more like Silva and would have a similar inclination to push further forward and to offer something close to what Manchester City are now getting from Marmoush.
This is not to say that other areas of his game do not stand out, though.
Another thing that he ranks highly in is dangerous passes per game.
Therefore, while he would likely be seen in advanced spaces whenever possible, he could be tasked with getting on the ball once he makes those runs and providing an attacking pivot point.
This could add a new layer to Manchester City’s play, as they could have a different way of exploiting spaces through intelligent passing.
If that were the case, Sebaoui would not be all that different from De Bruyne.
Kevin De Bruyne Vs Jhon Jhon Statistics 2024/2025
However, if Guardiola felt that signing him would give him too many attack-minded players inside the central third, a slightly more defensive option that he could look at is Red Bull Bragantino’s Jhon Jhon.
The Brazilian midfielder has been rated highly in his homeland for some time now.
He made his senior debut in 2021 for Brazilian side Primavera.
This was after ex-Chelsea midfielder Deco had spotted him and brought him to their youth setup.
From there, he moved to Palmeiras, initially on loan before making the switch permanent, before joining his current side last year.
As his statistics in this graphic indicate, he would not offer as much attacking threat as Sebaoui would, with his highest percentile rankings being for positioning and defensive duels.
This might make him a better fit for Guardiola, who wanted a player who would sit back and play a more holding role.
However, his ability to make dangerous passes, as is also shown, means that he could be depended upon to get on the ball and to move it into the paths of those ahead of him.
He might not rank as highly for touches inside the opposing penalty area per game, meaning that he wouldn’t carry the same offensive threat as De Bruyne, but that may not matter if Guardiola felt he had plenty of others at his disposal who could compensate for that.
Kevin De Bruyne Vs Kevin López Statistics 2024/2025
Ultimately, though, it seems likely that any replacement for De Bruyne needs to have an exceptional passing range, as the scout report already mentions that he has been recognised for over the past few years.
As a result, Guardiola would first look for someone who could dictate the tempo of matches and locate spaces in the same way as anyone who was to replace him.
This is where Atlético Tucumán’s Argentinian midfielder Kevin López has really proven himself a capable operator.
The statistics in this graphic indicate that his strengths lie in his overall passing ability.
He receives a similar number of passes to De Bruyne and sits just one band below him for those made per game, while his passing accuracy is higher in percentile terms than the Manchester City captain’s.
He might not make as many dangerous passes per game, but that, too, could be compensated by others around the field, like Silva or Kovačić, adopting that aspect of the role, so it should not concern Manchester City too much.
It is also worth pointing out that another of López’s best statistics is the number of shots he takes per game, with him sitting just outside the top two bands for this.
He might not contribute as many goals, but what is apparent is that he shifts the ball around the field and is not averse to trying his own luck in front of goal, either.
Again, this draws comparisons between him and De Bruyne and could make him a strong target should Guardiola decide to look outside his current squad to replace his playmaker.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has examined Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne more closely, statistically analyzing what he brings to their play and highlighting why they will miss him if he decides to move on to new pastures at the end of the campaign.
Nothing has been agreed upon regarding De Bruyne’s future, and some outlets suggest he could stay at the Etihad Stadium beyond the summer.
However, if he were to go, Manchester City would undoubtedly miss him and his influence on proceedings, as not many can offer what he does.
Replacing him would not be easy, but there are ways to do it and players that Guardiola can consider, both in his current squad and elsewhere.
It remains to be seen if he is forced to choose in the summer over which path to take or if he can enjoy having De Bruyne around for at least another campaign, which everyone connected with the club will hope will be more prosperous than the ongoing one.
It is certainly something worth keeping an eye on over the coming months.
