On transfer deadline day, the four-time consecutive Premier League champions, Man City, secured the services of midfielder Nico González from Porto by activating his £50m release clause.
This move has pushed the Sky Blues’ January transfer expenditure to £178m, adding to their earlier acquisitions of Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, Omar Marmoush, and Juma Bah. According to Philip Buckingham from The Athletic, this spending spree means Manchester City outlaid more than all 19 other Premier League teams combined in this window, and four times more than Wolves, the next highest spenders.
The acquisition of González signals a rejuvenation strategy for Manchester City, raising questions about whether one of their all-time greats might see reduced playing time.
González, who started his career at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy at age 11, made 37 appearances for Barcelona’s first team before his €8.5m move to Porto in the summer of 2023. At just 23, he’s already receiving high praise. Anantaajith Raghuraman from The Athletic notes his ability to “read space well and dictate the tempo of games,” predicting he’ll “slot immediately into Man City’s midfield” to fill an existing gap.
Ali Tweedale from the Premier League highlights González’s “ball-carrying ability,” noting how he “regularly drives through midfield with the ball.” Nick Wright of Sky Sports describes him as a “box-to-box midfielder” who could play alongside fellow Spaniard Rodri upon his return from injury.
With 131 senior appearances under his belt, González has 12 goals and 12 assists, with a significant portion of these stats (seven goals and six assists) coming in the first half of this season, including a crucial winning goal against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League, ensuring Porto’s continued participation in the competition.
His rapid development indicates he’s primed for the step up to a higher level, potentially stepping into the shoes of one of Manchester City’s legendary players.
Manchester City to move on from all-time great
According to Jeff Rueter from The Athletic, MLS expansion team San Diego FC has shown “interest” in signing Kevin De Bruyne this summer. Tom Bogert, also from The Athletic, suggests that the Belgian midfielder is contemplating a move to the United States.
De Bruyne, who will turn 34 in June, is currently in the last year of his contract with Manchester City, where his role has seemingly diminished. In a recent match where Manchester City was defeated 5-1 by Arsenal, De Bruyne, despite his historical success against Arsenal with eight goals, only played the last 18 minutes. So far this season, he’s only logged 1,326 minutes on the pitch, which is just 41% of Manchester City’s total playing time.
With this context, let’s take a look at De Bruyne’s performance statistics over the last five seasons.
| De Bruyne season-by-season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stats | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 |
| Appearances | 40 | 45 | 49 | 26 | 24 |
| Minutes | 3,043 | 3,338 | 3,685 | 1,750 | 1,326 |
| Goals | 10 | 19 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| Assists | 18 | 15 | 29 | 18 | 6 |
| Goals – xG | -2.1 | +9.5 | +2.2 | +2.4 | -1.3 |
| Pass completion % | 75.9% | 75.4% | 72.2% | 74.6% | 76% |
| Shot-creating actions | 178 | 197 | 218 | 111 | 93 |
| Touches per 90 | 58 | 63 | 52 | 67 | 68 |
| All statistics courtesy of FBref.com | |||||
As shown in the table, during the peak of his career in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons, Kevin De Bruyne’s statistics were phenomenal, earning him acclaim as potentially the “Premier League’s best midfielder ever” from former players like Jamie Redknapp.
However, it’s evident that De Bruyne’s performance is now on a downward trajectory, with a noticeable decline in his key attacking stats this season. Although his pass completion rate and touches per 90 minutes have increased, this suggests he’s playing further from the goal.
With De Bruyne’s role at Manchester City appearing to wane, his shoes might seem impossible to fill. Yet, could Manchester City have just signed their next big star in Nico González? This box-to-box midfielder certainly hopes to step up and fill the significant gap left by De Bruyne.
