Kevin De Bruyne has indicated he wants to extend his stay at Manchester City after revealing he has no reason to leave the club.
The Belgium international has developed into one of the leaders in the City squad under Pep Guardiola over the summer and even finished their 4-0 win away to Feyenoord as captain earlier this month.
De Bruyne still has four years remaining on his existing City contract but Guardiola’s side are keen to reward the 26-year-old with a new long-term deal to ward off future interest.
The former Chelsea midfielder has made a stunning start to the season and says he is thriving under the added responsibility of being one of Guardiola’s trusted men.
“That shows that I’m on the right track and I’m one of the leaders of the team,” The Daily Telegraph quote De Bruyne as saying after their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace this weekend. “I know I’m one of the five on the players council [with Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho, David Silva and Sergio Aguero].
“For me, it was also nice to be seen as one of the more adult in the group. That’s fun. That does not often happen. I’m the youngest of the five. We shall see [about being captain].
“I am very happy at City. Everything is going well for me. I have no reason to go anywhere else. The project City have is superb, so it’s best for me.
“There has not really been a conversation [about a new deal]. We both waited until the transfer window was over. They have spoken with [agent] Patrik [de Koster] in the summer: and said give us time to make the transfers and we speak after the summer.
“That will soon happen, I think. I’m not thinking it has to happen fast. I have a four-year contract. Whether I’m four, five or six years under contract, that does not change much, but it’s nice the club have so much confidence in me.”
De Bruyne has provided three assists in the Premier League this season, while only David Silva (23) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (19) have created more chances in England’s top flight than the City creator-en-chief (18).
