Clubs in Saudi Arabia have reportedly put the brakes on trying to sign one Manchester City star this summer.
The previous summer transfer window saw two players swap Manchester for the Middle East, as Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli in a deal worth £30m and Aymeric Laporte moved to Al Nassr for £23m.
With the next summer transfer window around the corner, some behind-the-scenes details have emerged regarding another City star the Saudi clubs have their eyes on.
Saudi clubs eyeing 2025 move for Man City star
According to a recent report from The Telegraph, clubs from the Saudi Pro League are now willing to wait until the 2025 summer transfer window to sign Kevin De Bruyne as a free agent if he doesn’t extend his stay at City.
The report also adds that the Middle Eastern sides will also use the same tactic to land a deal for Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah as a free agent next year.
The 32-year-old was reportedly approached last summer about a move to Saudi Arabia and was offered around €70m per year (£59.7m) to make the switch, but he ultimately said no.
City should consider offering De Bruyne a new deal
Back in the 2015 summer transfer window, City paid £54m to sign the midfielder from Wolfsburg.
Since then, the Belgian has made 381 appearances for the Blues prior to today’s FA Cup final against Manchester United, scoring 102 goals and supplying 170 assists along the way.
Even though De Bruyne missed a lot of the current season through injury, he’s still managed to score six goals and provide 18 assists in 25 games across all competitions.
This shows how crucial he is for the team and why it should be the club’s main objective to keep the £400k-a-week midfielder at the club for as long as they can, even if it means offering him a new deal and scuppering the Saudi Pro League’s plans of landing a free transfer for him next year.