Erling Haaland has made clear he wants Manchester City team-mate Kevin de Bruyne back on the pitch… thanks to music mega-star Drake.
Belgian midfielder De Bruyne, currently out injured, took to Instagram to dismiss speculation he had played a role in Drake’s new song Wick Man after ‘K De Bruyne’ was listed as a co-writer on the track. It prompted some fans to wonder whether De Bruyne was involved in the making of Drake’s new tune.
De Bruyne, 32, initially played along, teasing fans after tagging Drake in an Instagram post. He said in a caption: “@champagnepapi needed an assist”, alongside three images, including him with the Canadian-born singer and the song itself. However, the five-time Premier League winner quickly clarified by admitting that it in fact wasn’t him. De Bruyne commented: “all jokes aside, it’s not me! Huge fan though!”
Haaland, meanwhile, couldn’t help but join in on the fun when he became aware of his team-mate’s post. The Premier League’s deadliest marksman replied “he is not alone”.
De Bruyne has not featured for Pep Guardiola’s side since the opening day of the season when he limped off against Burnley. De Bruyne sustained a serious hamstring injury and is not expected to return until January.
“He says he feels really good, but still isn’t training or running much,” Guardiola said recently. “I’d say he’s the last one to come back and train with us. I won’t say two weeks, one week.
“We don’t put pressure, the doctors say next step. No pressure, recover, it’s not necessary to do the bad decisions to come back early. Step by step.”
De Bruyne assisted Haaland eight times in the Premier League last season, with 26 of the 98 opportunities he created going to the Norway striker. In fact, no one grabbed more assists than De Bruyne (16) in the top flight in the 2022/23 campaign, with Mohamed Salah (12) the next highest. De Bruyne scored 10 goals and notched 31 assists in all competitions as City won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
This season, Guardiola’s City have stormed to the top of the Premier League after 12 matches and they have won all of their four Champions League group games. However, they were held to a 4-4 draw against Chelsea on Sunday, with Haaland scoring twice.