Kevin De Bruyne may be leaving Manchester City at the end of the season, but there’s no guarantee that the Belgium international will depart the Premier League.
A string of clubs have been discussing the prospect of signing the 33-year-old playmaker.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa are among the sides who have been rumoured to carry an interest in De Bruyne – but which Premier League side is he best suited to moving to at this stage of his career?
What should De Bruyne’s next move be?
With KDB eager to remain in England because he does not want to uproot his family, FootballTransfers has used SciSports’ Career Advice tool to find the answer to just that question.
Factors such as playing time, style and formation all come into the analysis along with potential development, though for a veteran star like De Bruyne, this is clearly not such a big consideration. All these are put together and a Club Fit score is generated: the bigger it is, the better the move is.
Here are how the Premier League sides shape up:
| Rank | Team | Club Fit |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Ipswich | 46 |
| 19 | Brentford | 59 |
| 18 | Crystal Palace | 59 |
| 17 | Fulham | 61 |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 62 |
| 15 | Wolves | 66 |
| 14 | Liverpool | 66 |
| 13 | Man City | 66 |
| 12 | Leicester City | 66 |
| 11 | Man Utd | 67 |
| 10 | Brighton | 67 |
| 9 | Chelsea | 68 |
| 8 | Southampton | 69 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 70 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 70 |
Before counting down the top five, it’s worth a quick note on Chelsea, who are thought to be exploring the possibility of bringing De Bruyne back to Stamford Bridge.
He would move there effectively as a backup option to Cole Palmer in the No.10 role, according to SciSports, which gives De Bruyne just one star out of five for playing time. The analytics company also has big questions over the Blues’ style suiting him, again rating them with just one star.
5. West Ham United – Club Fit: 71
The Hammers are thought to be capable of offering De Bruyne plenty of playing time in a formation that is well suited to his footballing style.
In terms of style, Graham Potter’s side are not exactly what he’s after, but they still score three stars out of five in this regard. Not bad.
4. Bournemouth – Club Fit: 71
Could De Bruyne make a move to the south coast? Probably not due to his wage demands and the fact that Bournemouth are a club that loves to sign players with sell-on value, but that does not mean that the Cherries are a bad fit for him.
Andoni Iraola’s side score similarly to West Ham across the board, but the prospect of De Bruyne rocking up at Dean Court is pure fantasy.
3. Newcastle United – Club Fit: 71
Newcastle are a realistic destination for De Bruyne due to the financial power behind them, plus there is also the possibility of Champions League football next season.
They do not score particularly well in any given category but equally they are not especially weak anywhere either. A tweak here or there to Eddie Howe’s system and style, and he could dovetail nicely with the likes of Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes.
2. Everton – Club Fit: 72
What a coup it would be for David Moyes’ side to land De Bruyne as they move into their new stadium next season – and while such a deal is little more than a dream due to the player’s wages, KDB could find a nice home in Liverpool.
Everton could offer him strong playing time in a formation that suits him, even if the Toffees’ style is less than perfect.
1. Arsenal – Club Fit: 77
Arsenal are De Bruyne’s runaway best option next season, but perhaps that should come as little surprise given that Mikel Arteta is a disciple of the Pep Guardiola school of football.
The Gunners are a very strong stylist fit for the player while they also use a formation he can thrive on.
The one obvious drawback is a lack of playing time. He would struggle to displace Martin Odegaard, yet playing in a rotation system might be just what he needs as he becomes less reliable due to injury.
