Kevin De Bruyne is making Man City’s next major transfer decision clear

Stomping around the RheinEnergieStadion pitch on Saturday evening, just a two-and-a-half hour away from his Belgian birthplace in Drongen, Kevin De Bruyne showed why Manchester City need not make a snap transfer decision.

Justifiable concerns over fitness have seen the playmaker, 33 next week, rotated and rested more recently for both club and country. But his lung-busting run to poke home Belgium’s second against Romania shows there’s still life in the old dog yet.

Speculation over his future has been fuelled by his comments earlier this month regarding a potential switch to Saudi Arabia. “At my age, you have to be open to everything,” admitted the midfielder, who has just 12 months left on his City deal.

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“You’re talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that. If I play there for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money.

“Before that I had to play football for 15 years - I may not even reach that amount yet. Then you have to think about what that could mean next. But at the moment I haven’t had to think about that yet.”

Of course, he will garner little sympathy from those who have just seen a 10% rise in Man City season ticket prices for next season amid a cost of living crisis, but the idea that De Bruyne, arguably City’s greatest ever player, might have played his last his last Blues games tugs at the heartstrings.

There is a crossroads on the horizon. He is unforgettable, and his levels will perhaps never be matched, but he is not irreplaceable. Phil