Kevin De Bruyne close to £51m transfer after medical at Manchester City

Posted Sunday, August 30, 2015 by theguardian.com

• Belgian attacker in Manchester to complete deal
• Manuel Pellegrini non-committal but fee expected to be £51m

Kevin De Bruyne with Wolfsburg supporters.

Manchester City expect to announce Kevin De Bruyne as their fifth major signing of the summer on Sunday. Wolfsburg’s Belgium attacker is understood to have arrived in Manchester at around 10am on Saturday to undertake his medical, which was completed in the afternoon; the 24-year-old was photographed leaving the centre where the examination had been undertaken.

City insist the move will cost €70m (£50.85m), despite reports in Germany claiming the fee is £58m, but when De Bruyne is signed City’s spend in the current window will be close to £150m.

Raheem Sterling (£49m), Fabian Delph (£8m), Nicolas Otamendi (£32m) and Patrick Roberts (£11m) have all previously arrived to strengthen City’s frontline resources, along with the 18-year-old Enes Unal, who cost £2m.

After City beat Watford 2-0, Manuel Pellegrini was asked about De Bruyne. "I don’t speak about rumours, I don’t know if he is signing," the manager said. "I’ll give you the same answer as always. When things are finished I will talk about it."