Manchester City, along with the rest of most global football, are off indefinitely, so let’s do some transfer talk instead. If there’s one thing that can survive a global pandemic, it’s transfer rumors.
With that in mind, let’s take a spin through the Manchester City related rumor mill, starting with midfield maestro Kevin de Bruyne. City’s appeal to their UEFA ban isn’t even on the docket yet, and with the world on lockdown due to the global pandemic, their case for overturn is not going to be heard any time soon.
Thus it looks like the ban will stick for next season, and they’ll be out of Europe. Of course, there are still a lot of questions about this season, and trying to get it finished before moving on to the next. Nevertheless, no UCL reportedly means that De Bruyne wants to move on, reports Belgian media outlet Sport/Foot.
The destination? Real Madrid. The transfer fee? Around €150 million. Of course, it would be a really huge deal to say the least, so one wonders how realistic this actually is, given the extraordinary circumstances.
Elsewhere, the main weakness with City this season was central defense and that problem was exacerbated by all the injuries. City manager Pep Guardiola would like to replace John Stones, the Daily Star reports.
Who would be the replacement, and therefore, perceived upgrade over the 25-year-old English international? Leonardo Bonucci, the 32-year-old Italian international who currently plies his trade with Juventus.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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