Another twist in the summer transfer saga, it seems. According to reports in Germany, Manchester City are now closing in on what will be their second club-record transfer deal of the window, having reached a long-awaited agreement with Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg for Belgian creative midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.
The prospect of a deal being finalised has been speculated for a few months already, and with the former Chelsea star admitting his future was uncertain in June, plenty of rumoured suitors announced their interest. Juventus, Paris-Saint Germain, Bayern Munich and City's local rivals Manchester United: just a few of the top European sides who have been linked with a swoop for the 24-year-old; who created the most amount of assists in any of Europe's top five leagues with a staggering 28 in all competitions last term.
de Bruyne fee reportedly agreed
Reports in BILD and Sky Germany have both echoed suggestions that a fee has been agreed between the two parties; and the deal itself could be finalised at sometime within the next 24 hours. The figure in question, is €80million euros - which equates to £58.5million pounds in UK sterling.
Neither club have made any further comment regarding developments on the deal, but Wolfsburg have gone public about their attempts to keep him at the club beyond this summer - as they aim for greatness in the league and especially with the UEFA Champions League group stages looming, keeping their prized asset would be a big boost ahead of that.
Wolfsburg eager to keep prized asset, especially with Champions League soon
Admittedly though, every player has their price. City have no problem splashing money in order to sign the highly-coveted players in order to assert themselves as a dominant force in Europe, and if they were to bring de Bruyne in before the end of the transfer window next week, it'd be a signal of intent.
The Belgian has been training and playing as normal, but was not included in the matchday squad for their upcoming fixture with Schalke 04 on Friday evening - which has not helped speculation at all.
It seems as though the deal is close to being finalised, which will undoubtedly excite all sky Blues' fans.