Fabrizio Romano offers clarity on reports of Italian interest in Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne | OneFootball

Reported interest from Italy in Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer this summer has been shut down.

The Belgium international is fast approaching the natural expiry of his Manchester City contract this summer and will be forced to find a new club alongside those around him after Etihad Stadium officials opted not to renew his terms.

De Bruyne has since spoken out about the conversations he had with Manchester City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain and the club’s CEO Ferran Soriano, revealing that at no point was he offered a new deal.

“There was a little bit [of shock]. I didn’t have any offer from them the whole year and the club made a decision,” De Bruyne told reporters during a recent interview.

“Obviously I was a bit surprised but have to accept it. Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level like I’m showing but I understand clubs have to make decisions.”

Since Kevin De Bruyne and Manchester City confirmed the pending exit of arguably the club’s greatest player of all-time, numerous teams have been linked with approaches for the player from Italy, United States, Saudi Arabia, and even within England.

Now, according to the information of market insider Fabrizio Romano, Como are one side that have not made contact to sign De Bruyne on a free transfer, despite recent reports from English media.

It is further stated that Premier League rivals Chelsea are not in active talks for the Belgian midfielder, while there is ‘no confirmation’ on negotiations involving MLS side Inter Miami and their interest in the midfielder.

Links back to the West London club emerged after head coach Enzo Maresca claimed that Chelsea may need to bring in more experience in order to return to their competitive best from next season.

However, given the fact that Chelsea had made the decision to let go of De Bruyne on an initial loan deal to Werder Bremen before an £18 million permanent sale to VfL Wolfsburg in 2012, it was always difficult to foresee a scenario where a return to Stamford Bridge could be realistic.

Manchester City will no doubt be remaining on the hunt for an able successor to Kevin De Bruyne, with the club continuously linked to Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz alongside competition from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.