Kevin De Bruyne ‘is promoted to be Manchester City’s vice-captain’

Kevin De Bruyne is the new Manchester City vice-captain, it has been reported. 

The City players ahead of each season anonymously vote for a leadership group with each role democratically decided during the summer. 

With Fernandinho having left the club after nine years at the end of last season, there was likely to be quite tumultuous change in the group this term as the players voted for a new captain. 

With Ilkay Gundogan having taken over the armband from the Brazilian who returned to his native country to join Athletico Paranese, The Telegraph has reported that De Bruyne will be the German’s number two this season. 

De Bruyne was part of the five-strong leadership group last term having been voted in at number four but has now seen himself promoted to the vice-captaincy role.

The new leadership group is completed by defenders Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias with Rodri having been promoted for the first time, it has been reported.

Gundogan opened the scoring for Manchester City at home to Bournemouth on Saturday 

The official Gundogan-De Bruyne captaincy axis got its first run out on Saturday afternoon as City swept Bournemouth aside with consummate ease.

The new club captain opened the scoring after being assisted by new signing Erling Haaland with De Bruyne then doubling the champions’ lead with a wonderful outside-of-the-boot finish. 

Both players got an opportunity to captain the side on a sweltering day in Manchester with Gundogan leading the team out for the first time as the club’s official captain with De Bruyne finishing the game with the armband after Gundogan was withdrawn. 

De Bruyne doubled City’s lead with a wonderfully taken effort with the outside of his boot 

City sit top of the league after their two games, having scored six goals and conceded none. They are chasing a fifth Premier League title under Pep Guardiola having won four of the last five under the Catalan.

Guardiola in the aftermath of City’s win praised De Bruyne for his performance, saying: ‘I think Kevin, since last season, before he was just concerned with assists, now he is enjoying winning games and scoring goals.

‘The pleasure to score goals is big. It is important against that he scored a goal. When I was in Munich he was in Wolfsburg and I think he was the best player in the Bundesliga. 

He was a really good player before we arrived and he will be good after us. The goal was good. There was no space with this type of shot and it was an incredible goal.

‘It was an incredible performance, the assist for Phil came from him.’

Pep Guardiola praised De Bruyne for his performance crediting his new hunger for goals