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De Bruyne nears mega move to Manchester City

Jonathan HardingAugust 27, 2015

It looked like it might go right to the wire, but it seems that four days before the end of the transfer window last season's Bundesliga's player of the year is leaving Wolfsburg for Manchester's sky blues.

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Deutschland Fußballspieler Kevin de Bruyne
Image: Getty Images/D. Rogers

Wolfsburg's attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is closer than ever to completing a move to Premier League giants Manchester City, with the reported fee a staggering 74 million euros ($84.03 million). That fee would break the Bundesliga's record fee for the second time this window, after Hoffenheim sold Brazilian Roberto Firmino to Liverpool for 41 million euros.

Wolfsburg's sporting director Klaus Allofs admitted in Thursday morning's press conference that de Bruyne wanted to leave and that they are negotiating with City, but denied any agreement has yet been reached. "The reports I have read are wrong, there's no agreement with Manchester City," said Allofs tersely.

Patrick De Koster, de Bruyne's agent, was hoping for the deal to be finalized soon. "We are relaxed about the situation and we will see what happens in the next day or two," De Koster was quoted as saying. "Kevin is not desperate to leave Wolfsburg but hopefully there will be a conclusion soon."

Wolfsburg reportedly offered 11.5 million a year, up from his current 5 million, but according to reports Manchester City are prepared to pay up to 20 million euros a year including bonuses.

Manchester City has made repeated offers for the Bundesliga's reigning player of the year, and even Bayern Munich and Manchester United were rumored to also be interested. However, with the transfer window shutting on August 31, a deal looked set to drag on right until the final day. Wolfsburg's sporting director, Klaus Allofs, said weeks ago that he was "99 percent" sure that the Belgian would be staying, but after the 1-1 draw at the weekend, Allofs admitted that the speculation had indeed impacted the team and the club.

The 24-year-old was in fantastic form last season, scoring 10 Bundesliga goals and providing 21 assists as the Wolves finished runners-up, also clinching the German Cup. De Bruyne joined Wolfsburg from Chelsea in 2014 after loan spells with Genk and Werder Bremen and has a contract at Wolfsburg until 2019.

Possible replacements for de Bruyne have already been named, including Anderlecht's Dennis Praet and Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj.