EPL: Man City contract talks on hold — De Bruyne

Manchester City playmaker Kevin de Bruyne has put new contract talks on hold as he continues to deal with fitness issues this season.

The Belgian has, however, admitted that he doesn’t know if he will still be at the Etihad next term.

De Bruyne is into the final months of his current deal with City.

But he missed a big chunk of last season after hamstring surgery before returning to help the champions clinch a fourth successive Premier League title.

The 33-year-old has also seen his 2024-25 campaign largely derailed by injury so far, starting the first four league games before being sidelined again.

De Bruyne returned to City’s bench in the last two games.

“I honestly don’t know,” De Bruyne told a news conference on Monday when asked about his future.

“At the start of the season, I knew talks would happen but then the thing [injury] happened against Brentford. It was meant to be a couple of days and then it was eight or nine weeks. I put it all to the side.

“I had a conversation in the summer, but then I had the injury so I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk about that. I need to be back on the pitch and be myself again. There’s no rush; I don’t feel uncomfortable; I’m not worried.”