Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City: Wolfsburg expecting 'difficult week' as Bundesliga club resigned to losing former Chelsea midfielder

City are primed to launch a £43m-plus move for Wolfsburg's De Bruyne

Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (Getty Images)

Despite stressing that the club do not want to sell star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg appear to be resigned to losing the former Chelsea player given Manchester City's intense interest in him this summer.

24-year-old De Bruyne has caught the eye of officials at the Etihad Stadium following an impressive season in the Bundesliga that saw him score 10 goals and make 20 assists for his team-mates. With Wolfsburg valuing De Bruyne at nearly £50m, City would have to cough up a large fee to land the Belgian before the 1 September transfer deadline, but Wolfsburg appear to be prepared for the worst.

Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking has admitted that the next few days will be "difficult" as they expect to receive an offer in excess of £43m from the current Premier League leaders.

Before the weekend Hecking said he was growing tired of all the speculation linking the Belgium international 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", although it is now unclear whether he will get another opportunity to do so.

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 former Chelsea player with 15 minutes remaining.

Additional reporting by PA