Manchester
City have announced the signing of former Chelsea playmaker Kevin De
Bruyne from Wolfsburg in a deal worth £52million.
The
24-year-old Belgium star, who spent two years at Stamford Bridge before
heading to the Bundesliga in 2014, underwent a medical on Saturday
ahead of his big-money move back to the Premier League.
De
Bruyne joins the likes of Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Otamendi and Fabian
Delph as a new recruit at the Etihad in what has been a big summer of
spending for Manchester City.
Speaking to the club's official site
following confirmation of his six-year deal at the Etihad Stadium, De
Bruyne said: 'I want to reach the highest level possible as a player and
I think the most important thing is that at the end of the season we
can be happy and maybe have some titles.
'I think this is the most important for the Club, the players and for the fans of course.'
De Bruyne sat down with city tv
to speak at length about his move, labelling the Premier League 'the
best in the world' and remembering his time in Germany fondly.
He said: 'I
think in the last few weeks there was a lot of press, also in Germany. I
kept on playing and training, I stayed professional at Wolfsburg and we
were just waiting until everything was falling into place.
'Now I can just play football again and all the stuff, it stays in your head and it’s not that easy to be at 100 per cent.
'I
think the Premier League is probably the best league in the world, and
afterwards it would probably be Germany. I think in Germany I had a
great time, a successful one-and-a-half years and we won some titles.
Now it’s a new chance to be better as a player and hopefully I can do
good.'
'We are very
happy to have added Kevin to our team,' Pellegrini said, 'and I have no
doubt that he will be a big success on his return to the Premier
League.
'It
takes a special footballer to improve our squad and I have no doubt
that Kevin is certainly one of those – he has all of the mental,
physical, tactical and technical attributes required to fit straight in.
'We
like to play attractive, attacking football and bringing in a player
like De Bruyne will only aid us as we fight on four fronts.'
De Bruyne began his professional club career at Genk in Belgium, impressing for four years before Chelsea came calling in 2012.
During
his time in the Belgian Pro League, the playmaker was called up by his
country to play for the Under 18, 19 and 21 sides, before making his
debut for Belgium's senior squad in 2010.
In January
2012, De Bruyne signed for Chelsea - then under the stewardship of Andre
Villas-Boas - in a deal worth around £7m, but remained at his previous
club until the end of the season.
In
the summer of 2012, he moved to west London to begin his time at
Chelsea, who had changed managers, bringing in Roberto Di Matteo to
replace Villas-Boas.
De
Bruyne struggled to work his way into the first-team plans at Stamford
Bridge, and was shipped out on loan to Werder Bremen in August 2012,
where he set the Bundesliga alight with a number of impressive
displays.
By
the time he headed back to London, Jose Mourinho was the man in charge,
reassuring De Bruyne he had a future at Chelsea despite rumours linking
him with a number of clubs around Europe.
In fact, on
the opening day of the 2013-14 season, things looked rosy for the
Belgium star, as he started and set up a goal for Oscar, slipping
seamlessly into the Blues first-team.
Following
an hour of football against Manchester United the following week,
things went downhill for De Bruyne as his only game-time came fleetingly
in cup competitions.
Just
five months later, after much speculation, he left Chelsea in a deal
worth £18million to join Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, picking up where he
left off in the German league.
In
the 2014-15 season, his first and only full campaign in Wolfsburg
colours, he scored 16 goals and further increased his value, setting
himself up for a big-money move to Manchester City.
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