Since Kevin De Bruyne left Manchester City at the end of last season, there has been one question going around: who will be the man to step up and replace him? Now, that may seem like an impossible task, given the Belgian’s impact at the Etihad Stadium.
In 422 games for the club, the Belgian scored 108 goals and assisted an incredible 177, per Transfemarkt. The 2019/20 season saw him assist 20 goals in the Premier League. That was actually a rare campaign where City failed to win the top flight. De Bruyne lifted six titles during his 10 seasons, and the Champions League once.
So, replacing De Bruyne was never going to be easy, but a couple of City players have stepped up this season.
The Man City player stepping up in De Bruyne’s absence
It always felt like, when City’s former number 17 eventually departed East Manchester, Phil Foden would be the man to step up and replace him. The boyhood City star is enjoying a season of rejuvenation after a tough campaign back in 2024/25.
The 25-year-old, who was born in Stockport, has flown out of the traps this term. In five games, he’s already scored twice and assisted another two, operating as a number 10. One of those goals came in the Manchester derby against cross-city rivals Manchester United.
It is not just the Citizens academy graduate who has stepped up to full De Bruyne’s boots this season. New summer signing Tijani Reijnders has already grabbed three assists and found the back of the net, in seven appearances.
Premier League legend Alan Shearer said the Dutch midfielder is an “absolute nightmare” to face, explaining that it is “difficult to keep up” with him in full flow, carrying the ball. He has certainly made a good impression at the start of his City career.
As well as Foden and Reijnders have played, there is another creative attacker once on City’s books who could have had a huge impact.
Man City fumbled their own Florian Wirtz
In their search for a De Bruyne replacement this summer, Pep Guardiola’s side were reportedly in talks to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen. Of course, he ended up joining Liverpool, but there was a clear intent to sign a creative attacking player.
Well, if the Citizens had managed to keep hold of Michael Olise, they might not have needed to worry about the De Buryne successor, nor signing Wirtz. It is little known that the France star, who placed 30th in the Ballon d’Or, spent a brief time in City’s academy as a teenager.
What a coup that would have been for City if they’d been able to retain Olise in their academy and bring him through as one of their own. It is no secret just how good the Frenchman is now, having cemented a place in the national team after excelling for Bayern Munich.
After his big move from Crystal Palace to Munich last summer, the London-born winger has shone. He’s played 62 games across all competitions for the German outfit, scoring 24 times and assisting 26.
He certainly could have been their own version of Wirtz. He outshone him in several key metrics last season in the Bundesliga. For example, Olise averaged 1.1 goal involvements and created 3.4 chances per 90 minutes, compared to Wirtz’s 0.9 goal involvements and 2.2 chances created each game.
Goals and assists
1.1
0.9
Chances created
3.4
2.2
Crosses completed
1.4
0.6
Take-on success rate
54.14%
50.93%
Duels won
7.1
6.2
Just looking at the creative numbers there, it is easy to see how Olise could have been City’s own Wirtz. As he was called by Rising Stars XI over on X, the Frenchman is a “nightmare” for defenders, and a chance creation machine like the new Liverpool star.
Looking at the bigger picture, City might wish they’d kept hold of Olise all those years ago, because of how important he would have been to helping replace De Bruyne. In one player, they could have had their replacement for the Belgian and their own version of Wirtz.