Kevin De Bruyne latest: 'I'm staying at Wolfsburg this season,' says Manchester City target

Belgian had been linked with a £50million move to the Etihad

Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is a transfer target for Manchester City (Getty Images)

Manchester City target Kevin De Bruyne has admitted that he will stay at Wolfsburg this season.

The former Chelsea winger has been linked with a move to the Etihad this summer, with City reportedly having two bids of more than £40million rejected by the Bundesliga club.

De Bruyne, 24, was named the best player in the German top flight last season after his 10 goals and 21 assists helped the club reach the Champions League.

But speaking at an award ceremony hosted by German newspaper Bild on Monday, De Bruyne said: "I stay this season with Wolfsburg."

De Bruyne's words came on the same day his manager said he expected a "difficult" few days ahead.

Before the weekend Dieter Hecking said he was growing tired of all the speculation linking De Bruyne with a move to Manchester City, adding his conviction that last season's Bundesliga player of the year would be staying put.

However, Hecking's position changed on Monday when he paid tribute to De Bruyne as he picked up an award as Lower Saxony's footballer of the year in a ceremony in Barsinghausen.

"These are going to be difficult days for all involved," Hecking said, as reported by sport1.de. "And even if our days together should not continue, I would already now like to wish him all the best."

De Bruyne picked up his award, promising to "give my best for Wolfsburg", and it appears he will be true to his word.

The Wolves' next game is against Cologne on Saturday and his performance in the 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday suggested that the transfer talk was distracting him.

"It certainly wasn't one of his best games," admitted Hecking, who substituted the player with 15 minutes remaining.

Additional reporting from PA