Ozil, Bale, De Bruyne named in Champions League players of the week list.

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne have made The UEFA Champions League players of the week list.

The duo are the only EPL players to be named in the list.

Ozil’s spectacular goal in Arsenal’s 3-2 comeback win against Ludogorets is still a hot topic in football circles.

The German sent the world into a frenzy after he humiliated the keeper before netting a sensational late winner in Bulgaria. De Bruyne put up an overwhelming performance, scoring a sublime free kick as Man City beat Barcelona 3-1 at the Etihad few days ago.

Others included in the list include; Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, Monaco’s Radamel Falcao, Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain, Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann, Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale and BVB’s Adrian Ramos.

Vincent Kompany convinced me to join Manchester City – De Bryne

Kevin De Bruyne has said Vincent Kompany helped persuade him to join Manchester City, and has set his sights on winning silverware after completing his club record move to the Etihad Stadium.
De Bruyne finally signed for City on Sunday in a £54 million deal, replacing Raheem Sterling as the most expensive signing in their history.

The 24-year-old Belgium international helped Wolfsburg win the DFB-Pokal last season and is looking forward to securing more trophies with the Premier League leaders.

“Here is a good chance to win some titles with a team who has a lot of quality players,” he told City’s official website.

“I had a great time in Germany, a successful one-and-a-half years, and we won some titles — so now I think it is a new chance to be better as a player and hopefully I can do good.”

De Bruyne is a Belgium teammate of City captain Kompany and said the centre-back had told him about the merits of life at the Etihad Stadium.

“He called me a couple of times and we spoke on the phone,” he added. “He told me that the club can take good care of me and they will help me, and said to follow your heart and mind and if you come to City I will be happy. “It is always nice when you have some familiar faces. I know Vinnie really well. He can help me settle in a little bit better. He is the guy who speaks the same language as me.”

De Bruyne only made two Premier League starts during a brief spell at Chelsea and left in search of first-team football, but said he was willing to battle for a place with players such as David Silva, Samir Nasri, Jesus Navas and Sterling.

Kevin De Bruyne absent from training amid city rumours

Kevin De Bruyne missed club training on Tuesday amid wide reports that Manchester City have made a second bid of £47Million for the Belgium international. Coach Dieter Hecking confirmed De Bruyne’s absence from training but insisted that Manchester City have not made an offer.
Despite Hecking’s claim that there had not been any contact with City, Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Wednesday that the English club are still waiting for an official response to their €67m bid.
The report added that De Bruyne has been offered a five-year contract, worth €320,000 (£228,000) a week, which would see him become the best-paid Belgian player of all time. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, the current top earning Belgian, is reported to earn €280,000 (£200,000).
In an interview published in Wednesday’s edition of Sport Bild, Hecking was asked whether the DFB Pokal winners had enough quality in the squad to compensate for a potential De Bruyne sale.

“Given his current form, Kevin would be hard to replace for any club,” he said. “But should he leave us one day, then we have to spread the responsibility onto many other players’ shoulders, because every departure is also a chance for others.

“Our squad is strong enough, even though it hardly needs to be said that a player like Kevin makes the difference.”

Manchester City table £45M bid for De Bruyne

Manchester city have launched a £45M bid for Kevin De Bruyne despite Wolfsburg Sporting Director’s insistence that the winger is not for sale.

The offer comprises of £40m up front, with £5m of guaranteed add-ons, as Manuel Pellegrini’s side look to finally seal a deal for the Belgian international, whom they have tracked for the majority of the summer.
Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs insisted on August 1 that De Bruyne was “99.9%” certain to stay put but conceded that the club would listen to the offer
should City make their move.

De Bruyne, who has excelled with Wolfsburg following his £18m move from Chelsea in 2014, started and scored for Dieter Hecking’s side in Saturday’s German Cup clash against Stuttgarter Kickers.
That could be his final appearance in a Wolfsburg shirt, however, with City desperate to get the deal over the line as they look to add to the summer arrivals of Raheem Sterling, Fabian Delph, Enes Unal, and Patrick Roberts.

Hands off! De Bruyne is not for sale.

Wolfsburg sporting director, Klaus Allofs has stated strongly that midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is not for sale. It is widely reported that Manchester City have been eyeing the star midfielder and are ready to table a heavy bid to secure his signature.

But Allofs said it makes “no sense” to talk about whether those sums would be enough because the club had still not received any offers.

“We don’t have a game plan for ‘what would happen if,” he told German TV channel Sport 1. 
“If someone comes with that much money… it’s not happened yet so we don’t need to think about it.
“But Kevin is also categorised as not for sale. I think he played a decisive role for our team last year. When you have the sporting ambition that we have, it should be forbidden to let him go.”

De Bruyne was voted the Bundesliga’s outfield player of the year last season, scoring 10 goals and creating 20 more as ‎Wolfsburg finished runners-up to Bayern Munich.‎
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