Kevin De Bruyne was one of a host of players to return to Manchester City training on Tuesday – and the playmaker had a message for the fans.
Pep Guardiola was without a handful of key stars for the recent pre-season trip to the US, meaning he got the chance to cast his eye over some of the club’s top youngsters.
Some really impressed. Oscar Bobb was perhaps the standout player of the tour, while James McAtee and Nico O’Reilly also shone and have now become first-team options for the manager.
City are now gearing up for the Community Shield on Saturday against Manchester United at Wembley.
It will be a chance to exact revenge following the defeat in the FA Cup final.
One man who likely won’t feature is Kevin De Bruyne, although the Belgian is now back in training after an extended break.
Kevin De Bruyne has message for Man City fans after returning to training
De Bruyne was one of a handful of players to be given time off having been at an international tournament this summer.
He featured for Belgium at Euro 2024 and reached the last 16 before losing to France.
De Bruyne was a cut above his teammates out in Germany, but could not prevent an earlier-than-expected exit for his nation.
He has been on holiday but made his return to the CFA at the back end of last week along with Jeremy Doku, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes. Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake came back in on Monday.
De Bruyne has sparked a big reaction on social media, as he has returned with a new hairstyle.
The 33-year-old has now slicked his hair back into a bun, with some suggesting he has perhaps been spending too much time with one Erling Haaland.
De Bruyne marked his return to training by sending a simple three-word message to City fans: “Back to work.”
De Bruyne still has a big part to play this season
De Bruyne may be 33 now and perhaps did not show his absolute best level last term after returning from his injury, which was to be expected, but he stands to play a big part for City in 2024/25.
The star looked good at Euro 2024, and should be nice and refreshed ahead of the new season.
He will take a few weeks to get up to speed and get that match sharpness.
But he will be a big player once again for City, and Pep will hope he can supply the goal contributions as normal, with Julian Alvarez’s output about to be lost.
The striker is about to be sold to Atletico Madrid in a club-record £82 million deal, so other attacking players will need to step up.
