Man City believe Kevin De Bruyne's career at the top is over but he'd be the perfect fit for three Premier League clubs: THE SHARPE END

Time for a little game of Guess Who? Kevin De Bruyne made it clear that the decision to leave Manchester City in the summer was not quite as mutual as it first seemed.

‘Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level, like I’m showing,’ said the Belgian. ‘I like to compete, that’s what I feel, so I can’t say I want to quit.’

De Bruyne will have no shortage of offers from abroad but also refused to rule out a stay in the Premier League.

Who would be the best fit for him? Financial caveats apply. Who could afford his wages? Who would be willing to pay them? But, hey, where’s the fun in that. So, let’s leave that for now.

De Bruyne remains the division’s most elite chance creator. His 3.15 chances created per game is the highest in the Premier League this season among regular starters and so is the 11.31 balls he plays into the penalty area.

The issue is more about his legs than his feet. He’s 33 now and multiple hamstring injuries have affected his ability to bustle around the pitch.

He’s still covering almost as much ground as he was four seasons ago but he’s sprinting less and winning the ball back less often. He’s not built for pressing anymore. 

So we can flick down a few Guess Who? tiles down. Non-stop Bournemouth, gone. Same goes for big pressers Brighton.

Newly-promoted Leeds, gone, though rumours Daniel Farke may get replaced before next season could change that.

Tottenham, too. No side allows opponents fewer passes before they try to win the ball back, only City and Bournemouth turn it over more often higher up the pitch. 

How they’d love another James Maddison but while Ange Postecoglou is still making his players run until they collapse, it’s unlikely, though it’s interesting De Bruyne averages more distance covered, sprints and pressures per game this season than Maddison. Is that Daniel Levy on the phone?

Arsenal press relentlessly under Mikel Arteta and no side has covered more ground ahead of this weekend, though De Bruyne’s running numbers are similar to Martin Odegaard’s and would have the serial ball winners Declan Rice and Thomas Partay around him.

Manchester United, nope. Ruining his legacy aside, Ruben Amorim has enough slow, ageing midfielders at his disposal in Casemiro and Christian Eriksen. Same at West Ham.

Newcastle’s machine burns on their coals in the engine room. Liverpool press much less under Arne Slot than Jurgen Klopp but rarely keep players that age, let alone buy them. 

Chelsea the same, though having so many young legs around De Bruyne could be tempting and only one side have run fewer miles this season.

Everton fans applauded De Bruyne at Goodison Park and they are hardly the most intense pressers but David Moyes loves physical, hard running players like Abdoulaye Doucoure.

The best place for De Bruyne, then, would be a club that doesn’t rely on a high press and can make the most of his quality on the ball.

Brentford enjoyed the creative talents of Christian Eriksen on his return to football three years ago. Thomas Frank’s side press smart, not hard and De Bruyne would have runners like Bryan Mbeumo, Yoane Wissa and Kevin Schade. 

Crystal Palace have surging wing-backs and midfield runners to find but only Arsenal have run more miles ahead of the weekend.

There’s three teams that stand out.

ASTON VILLA

Aston Villa would be a fine fit. Unai Emery loves to create a box midfield with two creative players behind the striker and sometimes even has space for a ball-playing midfielder like Youri Tielemans to drop further back thanks to ball-winners like Amadou Onana or Boubacar Kamara

They control games not through rampant pressing but with squeezing the middle of the pitch with a high defensive line and a mid-block. 

Villa players have made the second-fewest pressures in the final third and only two teams have won possession there less often.

Champions League football could beckon again, too.

FULHAM

A move to the capital, perhaps? Only De Bruyne himself creates more chance per game than Andreas Pereira among regular starters this term and only De Bruyne and Bruno Fernandes play more passes into the box. Pereira does this either from the No 10 position or in one of the deeper sitting roles.

They play with a relaxed tempo, rarely press hard, having won the fewest high turnovers in the division, and have an abundance of attacking wingers and flying full-backs like Antonee Robinson for their creators to pick out.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Of all the clubs that would allow De Bruyne to stick to what he’s best at, look no further than Nottingham Forest. 

Nuno Espirto Santo’s side love to sit deep, soak up pressure and then strike on the counter-attack.

Don’t worry about all this running and pressing nonsense. Forest’s players have run the least distance all season, have made the fewest pressures in the final third and allow their opponents the most number of passes before trying to win it back than any other team.

They could also be in the Champions League next season, too.

And who better to pick out the surging runs of Anthony Elanga or whip the ball on to the head of Chris Wood? Guess who.