This season, Man City has shown a serious decline. At one point, they did not win for 7 consecutive matches. That partly explains why The Citizen is ranked 6th in the Premier League.
Injuries have been a major factor in Man City's decline. The absence of midfielder Rodri has had the biggest impact. The 2024 Ballon d'Or winner has suffered knee ligament damage and is expected to return only at the end of the season.
In every Pep Guardiola team, the defensive midfielder position is always especially important. The Man City coach has used many players to replace Rodri, but the results have not been really impressive.
Recently, there has been a lot of information that De Bruyne could play as an anchor midfielder in the upcoming matches. In the past, the Belgian star sometimes played deep, because he possesses extremely impressive long passes.
However, Pep Guardiola insists De Bruyne will not replace Rodri. He was quoted by Man City's homepage: "Kevin cannot play there. I was with him for nine years, so I know him better than anyone else.
“He can play in a number of positions and drop deeper when we want him to, but Kevin has other qualities. We need his energy up front. He is incredible in the final third. Obviously, I want him to play higher up the pitch and lead the line.”
This season, injuries have prevented De Bruyne from achieving his best form. He has played 13 Premier League games, contributing 2 goals and 3 assists. However, the Belgian attacking midfielder's class is still there. After 273 Premier League games, the Man City midfielder has scored 70 goals and 117 assists.
