Manchester City fans have been reeling by the confirmation that Kevin De Bruyne will be leaving the club at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old has won 16 trophies since joining Manchester City from Wolfsburg in 2015, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.
De Bruyne’s departure from the Etihad Stadium will mark the end of an era and, after such a difficult season, it may seem like a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
However, City cult hero Paul Dickov has now shared why fans shouldn’t get too concerned about how the club will replace De Bruyne.
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Paul Dickov says Manchester City are ‘always thinking ahead’ in the transfer market
Dickov, speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, explained how City have built up a good track record of replacing top players with equally good talents.
“They’ve been like that – and Pep’s been like that throughout since he’s been here,” said the Manchester City TV pundit.
“I remember when even at the very start when Joe Hart left the fans were in uproar and everybody’s like ‘you can’t get rid of Hart. He’s England’s number one’.
“And then when Vincent (Kompany) retired, everybody’s like ‘how are we going to replace Vincent?’.
“Fernandinho… who was for me City’s best player, the most important player for four or five years – they go out and get Rodri. Gundogan, when they brought him in.
“Sergio (Aguero), David Silva, Yaya Toure, all the City fans are like ‘how are we going to replace these guys?’.
“But if anything they went on and got better, and the recruitment they’ve had, bringing players in, it’s always been…
“I remember Bernardo Silva, when we signed him, not a lot of people had heard of him, Ruben Dias, even Rodri when we signed them people were like ‘where’s he come from? Even Kevin.
“They’re always thinking ahead.”
Who Manchester City are being linked with to replace Kevin De Bruyne
Replacing De Bruyne won’t be easy, but as Dickov has said, City are “always thinking ahead” and a number of names are already being linked.
Manchester City have approached Florian Wirtz as they view the Bayer Leverkusen star as a potentially cracking successor.
Wirtz’s future at Leverkusen is uncertain as he could either extend his contract or make a move to either Manchester City or Bayern Munich.
Manchester City admire Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest as well, while Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere is also on Manchester City’s radar.
