Replacing De Bruyne: How Man City could rebuild their midfield

When Manchester City announced back in October that Sporting CP’s Hugo Viana would take over from Txiki Begiristain as the club’s director of football this summer, the team were still unbeaten in all competitions. Now the defending Premier League champions are in a battle to finish in the top four, out of Europe, and their only chance of silverware is the FA Cup — where they meet Nottingham Forest in the semifinals on Sunday (stream LIVE at 11:25 a.m. ET on ESPN+).

With a handover period forthcoming from Begiristain, Viana officially started work on April 7 and one of several tasks ahead of the summer’s transfer window will be to work out how to revamp the club’s midfield. Club legend Kevin De Bruyne has already announced he will leave when his contract expires, and it’s looking increasingly likely that Ilkay Gündogan and Bernardo Silva will follow the 33-year-old out of the door as well.

While City spent over €150 million on four new arrivals in January and can look to up-and-coming talents already at the club such as Oscar Bobb, Claudio Echeverri, Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee, this will almost certainly be a summer of comings and goings at the Etihad. And with the Premier League’s 115 charges looming over the club, as well as no certainties over Champions League participation next season, Viana will have his work cut out.

So how does one go about such a complex rebuild? Instead of targeting like-for-like replacements for De Bruyne and others, the way forward for Pep Guardiola will be to find multi-purpose midfielders with the quality to fill a variety of positions. As with many of his squad, they should feel comfortable slotting in around the pitch but it’s also key that those tasked with a more central role can gel with Ballon d’Or winner Rodri when he returns from injury.

Here’s a few who City should be considering.

Attacking midfield (No. 10)

Florian Wirtz, 21, Bayer Leverkusen
Transfer value: €140m

A no-brainer of a signing if ever there was one. Wirtz was the attacking catalyst in Leverkusen’s double-winning campaign last season and has repeated his devastating impact this campaign. The 21-year-old possesses all the attributes expected from a world-class No. 10 — who sits in the space behind the striker and midfield — as he’s tremendously creative (2.30 key passes per 90 minutes), brilliant at finding space between the lines, and is a high-volume dribbler (3.50 successful take-ons per 90 minutes.) Most importantly, he’s also an expert finisher and has 18 goals this season.

Wirtz is the kind of player who should be able to dictate Guardiola’s attacking structure, supplying the wingers and midfield runners as well as pouncing on rebounds and layoffs from central striker Erling Haaland.

Is it likely to happen, though? The smart money seems to be on Wirtz joining Bayern Munich, while Real Madrid are reportedly also considering a bid, and it’s questionable whether the Germany international would even want to join City amid a major rebuild. If they miss out on the Champions League then they won’t have a hope, while splashing around €140m on one player would also compromise the club’s ability to complete other signings.

Key stat: 33 goals and 33 assists since the start of last season are astonishing numbers.

Xavi Simons, 21, RB Leipzig
Transfer value: €70m

Simons is yet to reach the level of Wirtz, but there are a few factors which strengthen his candidacy. He matches his rival in key pass stats, but his transfer would cost a lot less, and he should fit seamlessly into Guardiola’s style of football given his background at Barcelona’s La Masia academy.

The Netherlands international also possesses above-average finishing skills and a move to a more possession-dominant side should see his goals and assist numbers increase considerably. Much like Wirtz, Simons is also excellent at set pieces — something that will be lacking in the absence of De Bruyne.

Key stat: 2.24 key passes per 90 minutes is right up there with the elite attacking midfielders in Europe.

Nico Paz, 20, Como
Transfer value: €35m

Europe’s elite clubs are monitoring the young Argentina international on the back of a magnificent breakout season in Serie A where he’s had seven assists and six goals in 30 games. Though Real Madrid reportedly have the first refusal to re-sign Paz for around €9m thanks to a clause in the €6m agreement that took him to Como in the summer.

City would have to act fast and pay over the odds to sign Paz, but he’s only 20 and has a very high ceiling for development. Indeed, he has proven capable of scoring from distance or providing neat through-balls to his teammate and, much like Wirtz and Simons, he also excels at receiving and passing in confined spaces.

Key stat: 2.85 shots per 90 minutes are decent numbers that show he can be a goal threat.

Morgan Gibbs-White, 25, Nottingham Forest
Transfer value: €50m

Though a midfielder with a different technical profile from the aforementioned players, Gibbs-White blossoms in a free No. 10 role and offers Nuno Espirito Santos an X-factor in the final third — with five goals and seven assists this season — as well as fine defensive output.

The former Wolves academy graduate has had a couple of outstanding seasons at Nottingham Forest and has been key to their rise up the table this season. One interesting aspect to his game is his sharp, varied and direct passing and he often starts counter attacks in the blink of an eye when his side regain possession.

Gibbs-White is always looking to be involved in the play and his rapid decision-making, superb vision and goal-scoring ability from midfield make him highly desired by the traditional top clubs. How he would settle into a more patient side than Forest is an interesting question, though.

Key stat: He puts in 0.31 xA — one expected assist for every third game.

Dejan Kulusevski, 24, Tottenham Hotspur
Transfer value: €60m

Though this transfer has a slim chance of materializing, given the Sweden international has a contract until 2028 and it’s unlikely that Spurs would entertain any offers for one of their best players, City might feel that Spurs’ terrible season offers them a chance to persuade him.

While Kulusevski might be too direct in style for Guardiola, few top-level players are more devastating in transition. Having been reinvented from a winger to a central midfielder, Kulusevski represents a serious goal threat and his shooting ranks up there with the best. He could play as a No. 8 — a player who gets from box to box quickly — especially in away games, and could also offer Guardiola some added value in a wide role too if required.

Key stat: 2.6 key passes per 90 minutes puts Kulusevski in the top 2% of Premier League attacking midfielders.

Box-to-box midfield (No. 8)

Tijjani Reijnders, 26, AC Milan
Transfer value: €50m

The role of all-action central midfielder requires involvement at both ends of the pitch and there are few better options than Reijnders, who has scored 14 goals for his club and another three for Netherlands this season.

The key to his surge in end product has been a tactical tweak — initiated by former Milan boss Paulo Fonseca — that liberated Reijnders from some of his defensive responsibilities and encouraged him to shoot more often. Indeed, at a rate of 2.35 shots per 90 minutes, he’s now one of the most trigger-happy central midfielders across the top five leagues in Europe.

While his newfound attacking prowess is a huge upside, Reijnders is also dynamic and rapidly reverts to a pressing position when possession is lost. His versatility also comes in handy for a team with several gaps to fill in central midfield positions.

Key stat: In addition to his goal-scoring proficiency, a pass success rate of 90% is impressive for a multi-purpose midfielder.

Conor Gallagher, 25, Atlético Madrid
Transfer value: €40m

After moving to Atlético from Chelsea for €42m last summer, Gallagher has had a slightly underwhelming debut season in LaLiga. In Diego Simeone’s mind he seems more useful than indispensable and has mainly been used as a utility player, shifting between several midfield roles.

While it’s tricky to find a roaming central midfielder to replace Silva, Gallagher does come with some similar features: he’s got bags of energy, loves to get on the ball, is always available as a passing option, and is active in both phases of the game.

What’s more, he is a better fit for the roaming positional scheme of Guardiola, rather than Simeone’s rigid principles. Replicating Silva’s goals and assist numbers should also be within Gallagher’s realm of possibilities.

Key stat: While Gallagher’s attacking contribution has been somewhat limited, he has put in 2.8 tackles per 90 minutes.

Éderson, 25, Atalanta
Transfer value: €60m

Perhaps the least Guardiola-style player of all the candidates, Éderson still offers some highly valuable characteristics. He is more dependable than flash, altruistic rather than individualistic, and is arguably a closer replacement for defensive midfielder Fernandinho (who left in 2022) than those likely to depart this summer.

The Brazil international would provide a solidifying presence in City’s midfield and while Guardiola would probably prefer a more creative player next to Rodri, the Atalanta midfielder is mobile, high on stamina, positionally aware, and brings an added layer of defensive sturdiness.

Given license to roam forward, he’s also capable of making deep runs into the box (his headed winner away at Milan last weekend is a case in point) to make an impact on the attacking side.

Key stat: His six recoveries per 90 minutes are impressive numbers for a central midfielder who spends time in the attacking end.