Two Man City forwards can unleash Kevin de Bruyne in his most dangerous role

With two swift flicks of his right boot, Kevin De Bruyne announced his Manchester City return in the early hours of Thursday morning.

It only feels like yesterday that Fernandinho was lifting the Premier League trophy high into the east Manchester sky for the fourth time in five seasons. But the Blues have already reconvened for pre-season training ahead of yet another jam-packed campaign.

Club América was Pep Guardiola's side's first test, and it provided a good chance for the manager to assess his squad and monitor the players fitness levels. With a World Cup in Qatar sandwiched in the middle of this season, the City boss will need to use his strength in depth to the maximum if he is to maintain the same levels of dominance.

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Changes have been aplenty at the Etihad Stadium already this symmer. Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling have already left for pastures new, with Oleksandr Zinchenko set to join them through the exit door. In response, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez, Kalvin Phillips and Stefan Ortega have all arrived at the club and the squad has a fresh look about it.

One thing that hasn't changed, however, is De Bruyne.

Upon the announcement of Sterling's move to Chelsea last week, the Belgian posted on Twitter: "Last man standing or just getting older. Part of the furniture." The accompanying picture was the squad Guardiola inherited when he took over the reigns in 2016 — and now only De Bruyne remains.

His dizzying levels of consistency have helped De Bruyne engrained himself as one of Europe's finest midfielders in these past six years and it should come as no surprise he looked as sharp as