Kevin De Bruyne gesture shows exactly what Man City teammates think of exit

In the euphoria that followed the Matheus Nunes winner and the final whistle, Ruben Dias made a beeline for Kevin De Bruyne. Late in the dramatic victory over Aston Villa, the Belgian had been replaced by Manuel Akanji and had handed the captain’s armband to Dias.

As the celebrations unfolded, the first thought of Dias was to put the armband back where it belonged … on De Bruyne. And in that gesture was a snapshot, as if it was needed, of what De Bruyne means to this Manchester City squad. Which makes his imminent departure from the club all the more baffling.

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Judging by Pep Guardiola’s keenness to join Dias in saluting De Bruyne in the celebrations - although sometimes it is hard to know whether he is angry or ecstatic - the City manager also remains in thrall to one of the finest midfielders that Premier League has seen. But never mind his history, in the here and now, De Bruyne is proving himself to still be essential to a successful City team.

In a seven-game run of five defeats and two draws, De Bruyne has started five times, including the last four matches. It seems unthinkable that Guardiola did not have input into the decision of the City hierarchy not to offer De Bruyne a new contract.

But if he did, Guardiola might already be regretting it. It seems highly likely that De Bruyne will lead City out at Wembley for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, having proved in recent weeks that he is back to prime form and fitness.

But while he will also play a key role in the four Premier League matches that will decide whether or not City are in the Champions League next season, 33-year-old De Bruyne will also be thinking about where he is going to play his football next season.

“I'm open for anything because I have to look at the whole picture,” De Bruyne said when explaining how “surprised” he was when City did not put a new deal on the table. “I’m looking at sporting reasons, family and everything together and what makes the most sense for me and my family. I still feel like I can play at a good level.”

It is clear De Bruyne is open to staying in England. Roy Keane joked about him nipping across town to Old Trafford but that, clearly, is not going to happen. But there is not a squad in the Premier League who would not be improved by the presence of De Bruyne.

As his fitness has returned, his confidence has risen and, against Villas, he was beating players with the sort of surges that we have not seen for a while. And he is reacquainting everyone with that unrivalled passing repertoire, an outside-of-the-boot number from which James McAtee almost scored against Villa being the latest.

De Bruyne will have many options and it would not be a huge surprise to see him go to Major League Soccer. But City have a maximum of six games to play in this domestic season and in those six games, you can be almost certain De Bruyne will reaffirm the fact that his world-class talent remains relatively undimmed. And while it will be tough for City fans next season, that talent should still shine in the Premier League.

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