Cherki or Gibbs-White? – A Kevin De Bruyne Replacement Mission

Kevin De Bruyne is certainly up there with Manchester City greats, and one of if not arguably the best player to have ever taken to the pitch in the sky-blue shirt. Initially a reject at Premier League rivals Chelsea, he ventured to Germany in search of first team football where he rose at astonishing pace, joining Manchester City just two seasons later for 76 million euros.

He spent a decade with the club, winning the league six times, winning player of the season twice, as well as providing the most assists in three campaigns. He scored 108 times for the Citizens and registered 177 assists as he now leaves the Etihad after playing over 400 games and will receive a statue to honour his loyal service to the club.

When Kevin De Bruyne first joined Man City, he was labelled a 'Chelsea reject' by many rival fans.

He's now leaving the Etihad with 18 trophies, 108 goals and 177 assists.

A true Premier League legend 👑 pic.twitter.com/qsnBiBHXPp

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 20, 2025

But football is a rapidly moving business, so there is no time for emotional farewells for the Belgian midfielder, as City will now scan the market for a suitable replacement for De Bruyne. Two players who are high up on the list of replacements are Rayan Cherki and Morgan Gibbs-White.

Cherki vs Gibbs-White

Our first candidate for a long-term Kevin De Bruyne replacement is Rayan Cherki. The 21-year-old has spent the last six seasons with the club he was a product in the youth academy of, Olympique Lyon. Cherki made his debut in 2019 as a 16-year-old and has been seen as a player with limitless potential for years and has just achieved his best season to date with the French club.

🏆 Lyon midfielder Rayan Cherki is named UEFA Europa League Young Player of the Season! 👏#UEL | @OL pic.twitter.com/qtig5sMQIc

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) May 22, 2025

This season he really made his breakthrough, being a part of the UEFA Europa League Team of the Season, as well as providing the most assists in the competition with eight and being named the Young Player of the Season too. He is confirmed to be on the move over the summer, so is definitely someone Manchester City will be keeping an eye on.

Another option for the Citizens, is English midfielder, Morgan Gibbs-White. The 25-year-old spent his early career with Wolves, flirting in and out of top flight football through numerous loan spells, however, has since found Nottingham Forest where he really feels at home.

Every now and then I stop and marvel at Gibbs-White's profile.

He is a #10 who provides the necessary qualities to break a team down or to kill them in transition, but he is also athletic & intense defensively to lead the press or win duels.

Top quality via every possible lens. pic.twitter.com/uOQhRq9KvH

— EBL (@EBL2017) March 20, 2025

He played an integral role in a team which overachieved tremendously in terms of pre-season predictions, as Forest finished seventh in the Premier League, earning a Conference League spot next season. But with City lurking and searching for a De Bruyne replacement, there are not many players who would turn down the role.

How Do the Stats Compare?

When it comes to creativity and playmaking ability, not many are better at the skill than Kevin De Bruyne. What he did at Manchester City was phenomenal, in both the goals and assists tallies. The consistency in his play too was incredible and he is one of the best players to watch on the ball. His figures will be very difficult to replicate for either of these two potential suitors, as you can see his numbers below.

Since Erling Haaland joined, De Bruyne got 28 assists in that first season. Bear in mind, however, the Belgian achieved this with a club who have dominated English football for a decade- but lets now take a look in recent seasons, how Cherki and Gibbs-White have performed in similar roles.

Rayan Cherki managed to help Lyon get sixth place in Ligue 1 this season, which was just three points off Champions League football. He picked up eight goals and registered 11 assists in his 30 league appearances- an average of almost two goal contributions for every three games played. It was in the Europa League, however, where he shone the most.

He played in all twelve of Lyon’s Europa League matches, picking four goals and eight assists along the way. He was named in the Team of the Season for the competition and was named the Young Player of the Season. There was not a single game he did not have an impact on either, scoring a rating of 7+ each game.

In comparison, in Gibbs-White’s Premier League performances, the Englishman tallied up seven goals and eight assists. He plays an integral part in Forest’s build up play which I will move on to later, and Forest also have a “main man” up top in Chris Wood as City do with Haaland. Only nine players in the division achieved more assists than Gibbs-White this term as he helped his side return to European football after a 29-year absence.

Can They Fit Man City’s System

Manchester City’s system had to change after they got Haaland, with the main objective being to give him the ball in those dangerous areas where the Norwegian is so clinical. This makes Cherki’s numbers very impressive considering he does not have that main forward who will score anything given to him. Gibbs-White meanwhile was feeding the ball to the man with the best shots to goals conversion rate of forwards in the division. His expected assists were 4.69, which is more than three assists shy of his actual figure, showing how good Chris Wood was at scoring.

It is difficult to know which one of these two players would be the better replacement for De Bruyne, with each of them having reasons why they are the better choice. If we look at pure stats and numbers, Cherki is the obvious choice. Plus, he has plenty of European experience and so much potential. Gibbs-White meanwhile has more Premier League experience and so could be a cleaner transition into the role left by De Bruyne.

The Englishman may not need much time in order to get settled within his role with the club or the league since he will just be moving to a different team at the same level of competition and a side with a somewhat similar system going forward and will give his all offensively as well as defensively.