Is The Departure Of This Star Midfielder A Turning Point For Manchester City’s Midfield Identity? | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne has left Manchester City, leaving a gap so big that even Guardiola’s tactics cannot possibly fill in the 2025/26 season. For a decade, he has been calling every attack, every transition, every impossible space that he turned into a goal-scoring pass. You look at him and think that Rodri, Reijnders and Cherki, together, will try to patch up the wound, but even that doesn’t seem easy.

Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d’Or, yes, and there is no more reliable pivot to sustain possession. However, his mission is not to light fires, but to keep them under control. You can see it every time he moves the ball calmly, without looking for the impossible pass that De Bruyne saw, even when no one else could imagine it.

How will Manchester City manage the absence of Kevin de Bruyne?

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 25: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City acknowledges the fans after his final game for the team, following the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Manchester City FC at Craven Cottage on May 25, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

Reijnders, signed from AC Milan, brings new energy. He runs the length of the pitch and has an eye for goal, something that City lacked when their opponents closed in aggressively. But his debut against Wydad showed that his strength does not lie in deciding games with moments of brilliance. He is more of a tireless workhorse than a mastermind capable of stabbing the defence in the back. Reijnders is worth his weight in gold for pressing, for coming in from the second line, but the genius who unlocks defences is still missing.

Rayan Cherki, newly arrived from Lyon, seems to be the closest to that mould. He has magic, he clearly sees unusual passing lanes, and he has plenty of nerve. Even so, the Frenchman is only 21 years old, and the Premier League will be demanding for the player. His numbers in France are exciting, but City cannot be won with promises alone. Cherki has to mature very quickly if he wants to make up for the Belgian’s absence.

The fans watch every game with a magnifying glass. You can see it on social media. They know that without De Bruyne, it’s not enough for everyone to work hard. You need that unexpected touch when the night goes wrong and the goals don’t come. Guardiola is always reinventing systems, changing positions, squeezing talent out of players. Perhaps his idea of a more collective midfield will work for certain phases of the season. But there are nights when a moment of magic is worth a league title or a Champions League trophy, and there, for the moment, no one can guarantee that.

We don’t think City will collapse. They have the squad to beat anyone. However, losing De Bruyne does mark a turning point. A team with his stamp lose part of their creative soul, and that’s not so easy to replace. If Cherki matures, if Reijnders makes his impact felt, and Rodri stays fit, maybe the transition won’t hurt so much. Even so, there will be days when those impossible balls that only Kevin knew how to deliver will be sorely missed.