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Kevin De Bruyne is set to undergo a medical with Manchester City ahead of a £58m move after being left out of Wolfsburg's victory over Schalke on Friday night.
The former Chelsea player, who made just nine appearances at Stamford Bridge before joining Wolfsburg in January 2014, missed the 3-0 victory on Friday as his team-mates Bas Dost, Ricardo Rodriguez and Timm Klose were all on target against their Bundesliga rivals.
However, they look set to become his former team-mates as De Bruyne is on his way to Manchester to complete the final stages of his record transfer, which will become the second most expensive move in British history after Manchester United’s £59.1m deal for Angel Di Maria last season.
Show all 17 1 /17Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 17) Petr Cech (Arsenal) - new entry The Arsenal goalkeeper has atoned from his dreadful first Premier League match for the Gunners and with it returns to our Power Rankings. His first half performance in the 0-0 draw with Liverpool was brilliant and arguably earned his new side a point. With Arsenal's defence looking uncertain so far this term, Arsenal need Cech to maintain that form. Last fixture: D - 0-0 - Liverpool Next fixture: Newcastle (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 16) Callum Wilson (Bournemouth) - new entry Wilson was an early entry on our Power Rankings but dropped out after failing to score in his first couple of games. We got it wrong. The Bournemouth striker announced himself to the Premier League last weekend with a hat-trick in the 4-3 win over West Ham. Leicester at home presents Eddie Howe's team with a decent opportunity to get a run together. Last fixture: W - 3-4 - West Ham Next fixture: Leicester (h)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 15) Jefferson Montero (Swansea City) - up 2 Branislav Ivanovic then Daryl Janmaat felt the full force of the Ecuadorian's devastating start to the season and he played his role in ensuring Swansea kept up their unbeaten start to the campaign in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland. This weekend he'll be taking on Matteo Darmian of Manchester United - a player picking up many plaudits as well. So who will come out on top? Last fixture: D - 1-1 - Sunderland Next fixture: Manchester United (h)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 14) Salomon Rondon (West Brom) - down 1 A club record price-tag will come with hefty expectations but in the defeat to Chelsea Rondon showed enough to suggest he'll cause defences a few problems this season. Tony Pulis will certainly be hoping so considering his side are currently propping up the table. Last fixture: L - 2-3 - Chelsea Next fixture: Stoke (a)
Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 13) Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace) - up 2 Crystal Palace have made an excellent start to the season, winning two and narrowly losing to Arsenal. Cabaye has played a massive role in that and if they are to put Chelsea back into a 'crisis', then the Frenchman will be key. Without the suspended John Terry marshalling the defence this weekend, there could be a few gaps for Cabaye to find. Last fixture: W - 2-1 - Aston Villa Next fixture: Chelsea (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 12) Romelu Lukaku (Everton) - down 6 When you pay £28m for a striker you expect something special and that was the exact performance Lukaku delivered against Southampton. But the Everton striker was again drawing blanks in the defeat to Manchester City. A game against Spurs sees two teams with ambitions of being the best of the rest - can Lukaku be the difference at White Hart Lane? Last fixture: L - 0-2 - Manchester City Next fixture: Tottenham (a)
Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 11) Pedro (Chelsea) - new entry The former Barcelona man hit the ground running at Chelsea, playing an integral role in Chelsea's first victory of the season, a 3-2 win over West Brom. Having scored the first, the Spaniard set up the second and despite Chelsea having their backs to the wall after John Terry's red card, Jose Mourinho showed enough faith in him to keep him on the pitch until the 84th minute. With his home debut this weekend, expect Pedro to star. Last fixture: W - 2-3 - West Brom Next fixture: Crystal Palace (h)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 10) Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) - down 1 Saido Berahino won't be going to Tottenham this summer, although the arrival of South Korean Hueng-Min Son in a £22m deal from Bayer Leverkusen has gone some way to alleviating the concerns about a lack of attacking threat at White Hart Lane. That said, Kane remains top dog but must start scoring if he's to justify that position. Last fixture: D - 1-1 - Leicester Next fixture: Everton (h)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 9) John Stones (Everton) - up 3 Stones has been told he's going nowhere this summer, despite a massive bid of £38m for his services from Chelsea. The England international is said to be devastated at the Toffees' refusal to do business. But Roberto Martinez is expected to keep picking him so how he performs at the weekend will be fascinating. Last fixture: L - 0-2 - Manchester City Next fixture: Tottenham (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 8) Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - up 2 After his hat-trick against Club Brugge in midweek after a 10 game goal drought, there is a feeling that Rooney is back. But now he must convert it to the Premier League and with Louis van Gaal's side scoring just two Premier League goals in three games, the pressure is back on the skipper. Last fixture: D - 0-0 - Newcastle Next fixture: Swansea (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 7) Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - down 2 Like the rest of the Chelsea team, Eden Hazard has looked out of sorts in the opening couple of weeks of the season. The arrival of Pedro could spark a revival in his form with the pair linking up dangerously in the 3-2 win over West Brom. Last fixture: W - 2-3 - West Brom Next fixture: Crystal Palace (h)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 6) Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) - down 3 As long as Sergio Aguero stays fit, Manchester City will be among the favourites for the title. There is no other striker like him in world football - so adept with his movement in and around the box that he makes world class defenders look like Sunday league players. At home to Watford, he'll be hoping to add to the goal he scored against Chelsea last time out at the Etihad. Last fixture: W - 0-2 - Everton Next fixture: Watford (h)
Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 5) Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City) - up 3 What a start for the Algerian, who has scored in every game for Claudio Ranieri's surprise package. The latest came against Tottenham and it would be unwise to back the current Premier League top scorer not to add to his tally at Bournemouth. Last fixture: D - 1-1 - Tottenham Next fixture: Bournemouth (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 4) Jermain Defoe (Sunderland) - up 3 By scoring the equaliser in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Swansea, Defoe went some way to calming what has been turning into something of an early crisis at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats remain among many people's favourites for the drop but if Defoe can keep on scoring - he has two in three PL matches and scored a hat-trick in the Capital One Cup in midweek - there's a glimmer of hope. Last fixture: D - 1-1 - Swansea Next fixture: Aston Villa (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 3) Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) - down 1 The Chilean is just so crucial to any hopes Arsenal have at the title this season. The Gunner failed to score against Liverpool on Monday night and if they are to seriously challenge, they must add to their solitary win this season. Sanchez will be central to that happening. Last fixture: D - 0-0 - Liverpool Next fixture: Newcastle (a)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 2) David Silva (Manchester City) - down 1 Silva is a singular talent in the Premier League. There are others like him - Juan Mata, Mesut Ozil - but neither of those two players has matched the level that Silva can reach when he is on form. Was again excellent in the most recent Manchester City win as Manuel Pellegrini's side maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with victory over Everton. At home to promoted Watford, expect Silva to excel. Last fixture: W - 0-2 - Everton Next fixture: Watford (h)
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Premier League Power Rankings - Game Week 4 1) Christian Benteke (Liverpool) - up 3 He might not have scored at the Emirates on Monday night, but Benteke continued to show that he brings a different dimension to Liverpool's strike force. A home game against West Ham's leaky defence presents an excellent opportunity to add to his only goal of the season so far, which came at Anfield against Bournemouth. Last fixture: D - 0-0 - Arsenal Next fixture: West Ham (h)
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Should De Bruyne arrive in time, the 24-year-old may even be in the Etihad Stadium crowd to watch City’s Premier league fixture against Watford, and Wolfsburg’s sporting director Klaus Allofs confirmed on Friday that while the deal is not yet done, it appears to be a formality.
"They have told me that nothing's going to happen today [Friday] or tomorrow morning," Allofs said after the victory.
"We need players who are 100 per cent focused on the club,” added Allofs, who also confirmed that Ivan Perisic looks set to join Inter Milan after missing Friday’s match.
"We can envisage a transfer [for Perisic to Inter] if the conditions are right.”
Having cost £18m last year, Wolfsburg will generate nearly £30m profit in the sale of De Bruyne, with City looking to have beaten Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich to his signature after the Bavarian club expressed an interest in a move next summer.
De Bruyne has remained civil in his relationship with Wolfsburg and insisted that he would not push for a move, although he has persistently admitted that he did not know where his future would lay after intense interest from City. Having agreed a fee with Wolfsburg, City will offer De Bruyne an incredible £200,000-a-week to play at the Etihad, and he could make his debut following the international break in the trip to Crystal Palace providing the deal gets the green light.
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