Christian Fuchs has claimed that Manchester City have a readymade replacement on their books in case Kevin De Bruyne leaves the club.
De Bruyne made headlines after suggesting that he would be open to playing football in Saudi Arabia after his time at City comes to an end.
Question marks have been raised over Manchester City’s number 17 since his comments.
Fuchs says 24-year-old Man City star is ready to replace De Bruyne
If De Bruyne does bid farewell to the Etihad Stadium, a concern for City is which player will replace him.
Whether their plan of action is to trust one of their in-house solutions or sign a player will be interesting to see once the Belgian leaves.
However, Christian Fuchs told Sky Sports that Phil Foden is ready to replace Kevin De Bruyne if he leaves Manchester City.
On De Bruyne, Fuchs said: “He was one of the best players to ever grace the Premier League, especially in his prime years. It was a pleasure to watch him play and also to play against him. You can tell from his statement that he’s putting a lot of consideration into his decision-making. He’s consulting with his family, his wife, what it would mean. It’s not an easy decision and not just about following the money.”
The Premier League winner praised the £225,000-a-week man, saying: “If he leaves, I think City already have a replacement with [Phil] Foden as a playmaker, albeit he is a slightly different player, but I think Foden can fill those footsteps as well.”
Even if Foden is ready, Manchester City should keep De Bruyne
In our view, while Christian Fuchs hit the nail on the head about Phil Foden being ready to replace Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City should keep their vice-captain.
Despite not looking at his absolute best since his return from injury, De Bruyne showcased he remains one of the world’s most creative players.
The 32-year-old registered 10 Premier League assists in 14 starts — with only Cole Palmer (11) and Ollie Watkins (13) registering more.
In all competitions, Kevin De Bruyne provided 18 assists, which goes to show that if a player is brought in to replace him, one doubts they will be as creative.
Even Phil Foden registered 12 assists and even if he is expected to fare well if Kevin De Bruyne left, as Christian Fuchs stated, he is not as creative as him.
It would be wiser to keep De Bruyne and perhaps use him sparingly as he ages instead of offloading him.