Inter Miami to face huge challenge in bid to sign Kevin De Bruyne

Inter Miami are eager to bring Kevin De Bruyne to the MLS but they would have to sign the Belgium midfielder in a deal “far below market value” because of their existing rosters of superstars like Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets.

De Bruyne has announced he will leave Manchester City on a free transfer this summer after 10 seasons at the Etihad, with a host of teams interested.

The Belgium international is likely to leave Europe for a new adventure and has been linked with MLS clubs. Inter Miami leads the race along with Chicago Fire, New York City FC and D.C United.

Should De Bruyne sign for Miami, there would be “angst” among their rivals given he would link up with an already impressive squad of players spearheaded by Messi, according to the Athletic.

The report claims Miami could potentially have their hands tied over the deal because all of their designated player slots have already been taken up by Messi, Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez.

The situation has now “opened a window for additional suitors” because Miami won’t be able to pay De Bruyne as much as their rivals – who will have more empty slots to dedicate to the Belgium international.

However, Inter Miami could sign De Bruyne as a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) player, as LA Galaxy did when they snapped up Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Making a TAM signing involves clubs using allocated money to pay for a player’s salary cap charge and then marking him down as a designated player the following season – as Los Angeles FC did with Gareth Bale. The report goes on to say that Chicago would be a “good fit” for De Bruyne as they look to become a force under former USA men’s boss Gregg Berhalter.

Meanwhile, New York City have room on their roster and have a history of bringing in big names, but the report says their interest may be affected by City’s relationship with the team as its parent owner.