De Bruyne: Sanchez will be valuable at City 'when he comes'

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne may have unintentionally dropped the biggest hint yet that Alexis Sanchez is on his way to the Etihad Stadium.

The Arsenal playmaker has faced rampant speculation over his future since last summer, with a report Tuesday suggesting that Manchester City submitted at £20-million bid to procure his services in January despite the opportunity to sign him for free when his contract expires in the summer.

After City secured a first-leg victory over Bristol City in the League Cup semi-final Tuesday, De Bruyne addressed reports linking Sanchez with a move to Manchester and claimed that he will be a valuable component for the league leader "when" he joins Pep Guardiola's team.

"A very good player," De Bruyne said, according to James Ducker of The Telegraph. "When he comes he will add something to the team. Obviously, we will see what happens in this transfer period.

"We (as players) don't have to take care about that anyway. If a good player comes to us that is better, if he doesn't come we do it with the team we have. We are on a good period already, the whole season. Everybody is doing a good job."

City failed to complete a deal to sign Sanchez last summer when Arsenal refused to sell the 29-year-old without securing the services of a comparable replacement.

The Premier League leader was expected to revive its pursuit in the summer, but a knee injury to Gabriel Jesus has reportedly inspired City to add attacking reinforcements and complete a deal during the winter signing period.