Aston Villa open internal discussions over Kevin De Bruyne transfer from Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City could yet face off against Kevin De Bruyne from next season with a direct Premier League rival discussing the idea of a proposal for the Belgian.

The veteran playmaker confirmed earlier this month that the ongoing campaign will be his final season as a Manchester City player, having spent all of the last 10 years at the Etihad Stadium since arriving in 2015.

De Bruyne has since revealed that he never received a contract offer from club officials to extend his stay beyond a decade, believing that talks with sporting director Txiki Begiristain and CEO Ferran Soriano were focussed on more of a ‘business’ move in allowing him to leave.

The midfielder told reporters of the decision made on his future, “I don’t feel I want to share [the exact reasons] because it’s basically more business-wise for them and they made a decision on that.

“It was not really a long conversation. It was just what they told me. I have to accept the situation even though I feel I can still do a good job but that’s it.”

But while much of the conversation and media reports surrounding De Bruyne’s next steps have focussed on a move to the United States or Saudi Arabia, a new report has revealed interest much closer to home.

According to the information of Sky Sports News’ Melissa Reddy, Premier League giants Aston Villa have now held ‘internal discussions’ about a potential move for Manchester City’s outgoing club legend.

It is detailed that De Bruyne’s reluctance to move his young family and prioritising of his football and home life when making a decision on his next club has alerted ‘several’ Premier League clubs, while Inter Miami, Chicago Fire, NYCFC and DC United have made enquiries.

Over in Serie A and the ever-impressive and ambitious Como – led by Spain legend Cesc Fabregas – are also ‘doing checks’ to see if there is any possibility of landing Kevin De Bruyne following the expiry of his Manchester City contract.

De Bruyne recently kept the door open to the idea of an extended stay in English football away from the Etihad Stadium, as he told Norwegian media when asked whether his time in the country is over, “It could be, it could be not.

“It’s very hard because the decision of leaving has not been that long [ago] so nothing can be decided in a week. And also in the football world, I don’t think everything comes in a week. It goes very slowly.

“I’ve not even seen my family since the announcement. So I need to speak [with them] and I need to see whatever team wants me, so I don’t know, I have no idea, so we’ll see.”