Pellegrini quiet on De Bruyne after record-breaking win

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insisted there was no news on Wolfsburg midfielder Kevin De Bruyne’s proposed arrival after watching his side claim a club-record 10th consecutive Premier League victory with a 2-0 win over Watford.

Wolfsburg’s sporting director, Klaus Allofs, confirmed on Friday that De Bruyne was set to complete a big-money move to the Etihad Stadium, and pictures have since emerged that appear to show the former Chelsea man leaving a hospital after reportedly completing a medical.

Nevertheless, Pellegrini remained tight-lipped on Saturday as he said: “I don’t have any news.”

He added: “Do you have any news? Really, I don’t know. I was watching the game.”

Pellegrini praised the performance of Raheem Sterling, who scored his first goal for City on a day that saw Chelsea and Liverpool both suffer defeat.

“Raheem played very well. It was good for him to score,” said Pellegrini. “He worked very hard and I’m sure he’ll score more goals.

“He brings something we did not have last season. He’s not just a scoring player though, he works a lot in the game and is good at one-v-ones, which is something we perhaps needed to improve upon.

“He’s demonstrating that he’s not an expensive player, he’s a good player.”

It was not until the second half that City found a way past a resolute Watford team, but once the deadlock was broken it was a comfortable ride for the home side, who added a second goal through Fernandinho.

Pellegrini, who made a key substitution when he sent on Samir Nasri for Jesus Navas at half-time, allowing Sterling to play centrally, praised his team’s patience, saying: “It was not frustrating in the first half. You can’t expect to win the game inside 45 minutes against a team who defends well.

“I think that half-time was important to make the change. We had a lot of possession in the first half but didn’t create many chances.

“Making that change with Nasri on the left, a more free David [Silva] on the right and having Raheem close to Kun [Sergio Aguero] was the way we must try to do it and I’m happy that it worked.”