Life without Kevin De Bruyne at Man City as Eberechi Eze signs in 2024/25 season prediction

Manchester City could potentially be entering the 2024/25 season without one of their best players, with Kevin De Bruyne being linked with a move away from the Etihad this summer.

After winning the Premier League title for the sixth time in the last seven years, a few of City's biggest names have been linked with moves away from the club, including De Bruyne. The Belgian has been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League in recent weeks, though Pep Guardiola moved to calm supporters when asked about his potential exit.

Nevertheless, Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze has been linked with a move to City as De Bruyne's replacement, should the midfielder depart this summer. Eze enjoyed a standout season with Palace that saw him feature for England at Euro 2024, but a move for the 26-year-old would cost nothing lower than his £60million release clause.

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So, if De Bruyne was to leave City this summer and Eze was to take his place in Guardiola's squad, what could happen? We simulated the 2024/25 season to find out.

To set up this simulation, we used Football Manager 2024 to move Eze from Crystal Palace to City in the summer transfer window, with De Bruyne eventually making an interesting move to Borussia Dortmund. We then simulated the 2024/25 season, and this is what happened.

In his first season at the club, Eze was trusted to start the majority of games under Guardiola, with the Englishman often avoiding his rotation roulette. Availablity-wise, Eze offered more than De Bruyne as he made 42 appearances across all competitions, but his goal output