Man City can replace De Bruyne by signing “exciting” £34m assist king..
Manchester City have not set the Premier League alight by their lofty standards this season, but there are still some positive green shoots beginning to appear.
Indeed, the likes of Nico O’Reilly and Omar Marmoush have settled in swimmingly to first-team life in Manchester, with the exciting academy product a first-team regular now, alongside his entertaining Egyptian teammate who already has six Premier League goals to his name.
Marmoush-Man-City
That’s the case despite the City number seven only being on the books of Pep Guardiola’s men since January, meaning there will plenty of optimism in the air that deals happening this coming transfer window can be equally as impactful.
How Man City could replace De Bruyne in the transfer window
The main area of the pitch that could do with some reinforcements is the number ten spot with Kevin De Bruyne edging ever closer to exiting the Etihad the more the season ticks away.
This has led City down the path of pursuing some statement buys with both names such as Florian Wirtz and Morgan Gibbs-White on their agenda to try and adequately replace the constant heroics of De Bruyne.
De Bruyne Premier League stats Man City
But, Guardiola’s titans could plug the gap left behind by their iconic Belgian by snapping up Sporting winger Francisco Trincao instead, despite the ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers man’s main preference to line up down the flanks.
The Portuguese was linked with a move to the Etihad earlier this week but it won’t be an easy deal to get over the line.
That’s because top four rivals Newcastle United and Arsenal are also after the wide forward, while city rivals Manchester United have a vested interest too.
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Why Trincao could replace De Bruyne’s creativity
If Trincao were to relocate back to the Premier League, he would have a burning desire to prove any naysayers wrong after a turbulent stint at Molineux.
After all, the 25-year-old attacker – who was once hailed as “special” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – has proven himself to be an assist king ever since returning to his native Portugal, which could lead to De Bruyne’s sad exit being quickly forgotten about.
The on-fire Sporting number 17 was more cold than hot donning a Wolves strip, with Trincao only capable of picking up a mere three goals and one assist from 30 appearances for the Old Gold, before then retreating to a more comfortable environment in Lisbon.
franisc-trincao-sporting-club
Now, he is front and centre of Sporting’s devastating attacking arsenal alongside goal machine Viktor Gyokeres, with this season alone seeing the reinvigorated forward pick up a substantial 18 assists from 51 total contests.
His career total of 53 assists – away from this season’s count – is some way off eclipsing De Bruyne’s unbelievable 177 tally at the Etihad, but the powers that be at City will just pray he can be as classy as the departing 33-year-old when cutting defences open if he joins, having also once been openly praised as “really exciting” by Wolves technical director Scott Sellars.
Trincao’s G/A career numbers by position
Position played
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
RW
171
27
36
LW
53
11
6
SS
24
7
3
RM
11
0
1
CF
8
3
1
LM
6
1
2
AM
1
0
0
Sourced by Transfermarkt
To further back up Trincao as a likely heir to De Bruyne’s playmaking throne, the Portuguese superstar has also shown across his career to date that he can shine in multiple different positions.
Of course, the assist-heavy Belgian is most commonly known as lining up as a number ten for Guardiola’s giants, but he has lined up in eight different positions during his lengthy stay at the club, including as a main striker in recent times, a role Trincao can fulfil too.
kevin-de-bruyne-man-city
Therefore, this is yet another box that Trincao ticks if he’s going to be the next ace up Guardiola’s sleeve, similar to De Bruyne’s high standards.
Adding in a player of the 25-year-old’s creative calibre can only be a positive for those at City, with a further low price-tag next to his name of just £34m making this potential summer move a must to complete.
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