De Bruyne was duped into saying he would stay at Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg are expecting a big-money offer for playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, the club’s director of sport Klaus Allofs has said.

The Belgian player, widely linked with a move to Manchester City, appeared to have committed his future to his German club on Monday.

When he picked up the Sport Bild magazine’s footballer of the year award, De Bruyne said he would be staying at Wolfsburg.

But agent Patrick De Koster later claimed De Bruyne had been duped into making the statement, saying on Sky Sports News HQ: “We are devastated. A practical joke in a live show, in a language the player doesn’t completely understand? Unbelievable.”

Allofs said it could be difficult, but not necessarily impossible, to resist a substantial offer for the 24-year-old former Chelsea player.

SEE MORE: Wolfsburg coach hints at Kevin de Bruyne departure.

“Of course we are expecting an attempt to be made in the coming days,” Allofs said, according to sport1.de. “That has, at least, been signaled.

“An offer to Kevin, in terms of his salary, has already been made, and the figures are crazy.

“But overall I’m confident that Kevin will remain with us this season. The fact is – and this is 100 per cent certain – Kevin has a contract with us until 2019 and if at all possible, we don’t want him to leave.

“Furthermore, we are not a club who needs transfer revenue. If an offer does come in, though, we will discuss it seriously because we cannot ignore the player’s interests.”

As well as the interest from City, Paris St Germain have also now been linked with the player who set a new record for the number of assists in the Bundesliga last season.

De Bruyne’s achievements contributed in no small way to Wolfsburg finishing second behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and winning the DFB-Pokal, German’s cup competition.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, De Bruyne had said: “I’m in a team which is like a family to me and it does me good. When I feel good, then things also go well out on the field.”