Stan Collymore urges Kevin De Bruyne to join Liverpool

Former Liverpool forward Stan Collymore has urged Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to join the Reds.

The Belgium international has been very successful since joining the Citizens. De Bruyne has scored 82 goals and registered 120 assists in 304 appearances for Manchester City.

The 30-year-old has also won three Premier League titles with the Sky Blues. However, Collymore has implied that De Bruyne could achieve a lot more if he moved to Liverpool.

He told The Mirror the following: “In August 2020, I wrote a column saying Kevin De Bruyne should go to Liverpool and, of course, at the time the comments on it were all, ‘Ha ha ha, why would he want to go there?’ Well, those who took the time to reply are not laughing now and I can’t help wondering if it has crossed his mind that it might be time for a change.

“As a player, you know when you walk off the pitch whether or not you have had the impact you wanted to have on a game. And after City’s Champions League exit, I’m sure De Bruyne will have been looking around thinking, ‘Are other people as good as I am? Will they help get me to where I need to be? Do I need to go to a club which is a routine winning machine?’

“His effectiveness in the biggest one-off games for club and country is actually very poor and maybe it’s time for him to go to a Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich, a club, or more importantly organisation, that has that winning mentality which gets the best out of him. Look, Liverpool might not be able to afford his wages — City have the means to pay a player whatever he wants and my old club, big as they are, don’t.

“And he may well walk out of City one day saying, ‘I’ve won the lot here’, and I’ve no doubt City will ultimately win the Champions League. But the feeling of winning what he has won so far with City will not push him anywhere near the heights he could still get to if he was with one of those other clubs because of their histories.

“The difference is palpable and I wonder if De Bruyne, who is from a family of Liverpool fans and whose hero was Michael Owen when he was younger, needs that now to become the difference in the biggest games.”

It is important to note that the Reds have not genuinely been linked with a move for De Bruyne.

Anfield Watch Verdict

We would love to see Liverpool and De Bruyne cross paths. The midfielder is an unbelievable player after all. But, we just don't see it happening.

De Bruyne's contract expires in June 2025. The Belgium international possesses a current market value of £81 million.

Under Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool have never spent big on an ageing player. Plus, Manchester City would not sell a star player to a direct rival.