BREAKING NEWS LIVE ‼️Stunning Kevin de Bruyne to Liverpool transfer talked up as star leaves Manchester City

It’s an end of an era in the Premier League, and not just at Liverpool with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah all due to become free-agents as things stand.

Because, while the futures of three living Liverpool legends remain uncertain – Fabrizio Romano reports that Alexander-Arnold is getting ‘closer’ to Real Madrid while discussions with Van Dijk and Salah are ongoing – one of the competition’s modern-day greats has already confirmed his own fate.

Kevin de Bruyne, a six-time Premier League champion in the so-called ‘CityPool era’ – announced last week that the 2024/25 campaign is the Belgian’s last in Manchester City’s sky blue shirt.

Not that Liverpool will be too sad to see him go, of course.

While Salah’s potential departure will be greeted with sighs of relief from Premier League defenders up and down the land, a Man City side shorn of De Bruyne’s surgeon-like through balls is a much less fearsome prospect even if the veteran playmaker is no longer the same irrepressible force of old.

Belgian reporter dreams of Kevin de Bruyne swapping Manchester City for Liverpool

Where next for arguably the finest creator in Premier League history?

TBR Football reports that discussions over a move to America – De Bruyne’s preferred destination – have cooled of late with San Diego adopting a more youthful transfer policy.

Speaking to Sporza, meanwhile, Belgian reporter Filip Joos cannot help but dream up a sensational switch from the Etihad to Anfield, or even Old Trafford. He knows, however, that this is simply wishful thinking and nothing more.

People say the United States or Saudi Arabia,” Joos says, imagining of De Bruyne pulling off one of the most contentious transfers since Johan Cruyff turned his back on his beloved Ajax and went on to claim the Eredivisie title with Feyenoord.

“I have Johan Cruyff in mind. He couldn’t get along with Ajax and out of sheer spite he went to play for big rival Feyenoord and became champion there. I would love to see De Bruyne at Manchester United or Liverpool, but that won’t happen.

“He should do what he feels like doing. I understand that, after all those seasons in which he had to play on his toes, he wants to take it a bit easier.”

De Bruyne the driving force behind Pep Guardiola’s success

Surprisingly given that Man City have dominated the English football landscape apart from that one remarkable campaign under Jurgen Klopp – the former Liverpool boss tried to sign De Bruyne at Borussia Dortmund, by the way – the 33-year-old has been on the winning side just five times against the Merseyside giants.

Arne Slot’s side did the double over City this season, winning 2-0 both at home and away. De Bruyne’s performance in February’s meeting, meanwhile, certainly created the impression of a rusting old supercar spluttering fumes and leaking oil.

“De Bruyne has had a phenomenal career in Manchester,” Joos sums up. “He has been City’s man of the past ten years.

“It shows how good and how great De Bruyne is that, of all the boys who played under Guardiola, he was still able to escape that straitjacket the most. Of course, he also went where the coach wanted him to, but he was allowed to lose the ball, for example.

“That may sound strange in a player’s eulogy, but that was exactly what made De Bruyne so great for me. That he was not the risk-free player. He was given the freedom to go for the difficult pass.

“We’ve seen that with his truckload of assists and, every now and then, something goes wrong. To be allowed to let things go wrong with Guardiola is a testament to absolute greatness.”