Berlin: Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne jetted off to England on Saturday morning with his club Wolfsburg poised to agree a German record transfer with Premier League giants Manchester City.
De Bruyne sat out Friday’s 3-0 win over Schalke which put Wolfsburg top of the league with club bosses about to agree a reported fee of around 74 million euros (Dh305 million) before Germany’s transfer window closes on Monday.
German broadcaster Sport 1 showed De Bruyne boarding a private jet at Braunschweig airport, near Wolfsburg, en route to Manchester shortly before 10am local time.
On Friday night, Wolfsburg director of sport Klaus Allofs said there were “only small details” left to finalise in the transfer.
The deal will smash the Bundesliga transfer record of 41 million euros that Liverpool paid Hoffenheim for Brazil striker Roberto Firmino in July.
Reports suggest Wolfsburg could pocket up to 80 million euros, with an extra six million in bonuses, for De Bruyne if the attacking midfielder helps City win this season’s Premier League title.
Germany’s footballer of the year for 2014-15 helped Wolfsburg win the German Cup last season and finish second to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, as he scored 16 goals and provided 29 assists in all competitions.
The 24-year-old cost Wolfsburg 25 million euros when he joined from Chelsea in January 2014 after a year on loan at fellow German side Werder Bremen in 2012-13.
In De Bruyne’s absence, Dutch striker Bas Dost gave Wolfsburg an early lead by drilling home a 17th-minute cross before Swiss left-back Ricardo Rodriguez converted a penalty just before the hour mark.
Centre half Timm Klose then netted Wolfsburg’s third goal with 61 minutes gone as his side bounced back with a convincing win compared to last weekend’s uninspired 1-1 draw at Cologne.
Schalke’s Germany midfielder Julian Draxler, who played the first 73 minutes on Friday, could be his possible replacement at Wolfsburg, but Allofs added: “I could give you 10 to 15 possible names”.
Croatia midfielder Ivan Perisic, who was also left out of the Wolfsburg squad, is poised to join Inter Milan for 20 million euros before the transfer window closes. Both De Bruyne and Perisic were in the stadium to watch their team win to top the table by a point from Borussia Dortmund and third-placed defending champions Bayern Munich.
“We need players who identify themselves 100 per cent with the club,” explained Allofs when asked why the pair were left out.
