Sentimental Dream Team managers gearing up for one last ride with Kevin De Bruyne

KEVIN DE BRUYNE (£5.4m) rolled back the years to inspire Manchester City to a remarkable comeback victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend.

The mood threatened to turn toxic at the Etihad when the Eagles went 2-0 up in the 21st minute but the hosts’ Belgian talisman, on his farewell tour after ten years at the club, played a pivotal role in what ended up being one of the best wins of the season for Pep Guardiola’s side.

De Bruyne scored his 107th goal for Man City with a direct free-kick before he was involved in the build-up to Omar Marmoush’s (£4.8m) equaliser just three minutes later.

Soon after the restart, the 33-year-old provided an assist with a composed lay-off for Mateo Kovacic (£2.6m) as the home side took full control against one of the Premier League’s most in-form sides.

Academy products James McAtee (£0.9m) and Nico O’Reilly (£2.5m) completed the 5-2 rout but when all was said and done, De Bruyne was the big winner from a Dream Team perspective having banked 17 points.

At the time of writing, only two players have performed better in Gameweek 31 – Joao Pedro (£3.4m) and Harvey Barnes (£2.9m) – who notched 19 points each over the weekend.

De Bruyne’s sizeable haul comes at a good time with Man City among the select group of just four teams set to fulfil two fixtures in Gameweek 32.

The eight-time Premier League champions will travel to Everton this coming Saturday before hosting Aston Villa the following Tuesday.

With double headers in short supply next Gameweek, Dream Team bosses should weigh up the prospect of one last ride with De Bruyne before he sails into the sunset.

Generally speaking, gaffers should endeavour to make strategic decisions with their head rather than their heart but this approach may tick both boxes.

De Bruyne has been among the most selected players in the game throughout the last decade; a premium midfielder who has justified his popularity and price with lorry-loads of points time and time again.

For many, one final Gameweek with the gifted playmaker in tow will provide a welcome dose of nostalgia.

And it may be the case that De Bruyne is more than a short-term punt as Man City will gain an additional fixture if they beat Nottingham Forest in Gameweek 33 to reach the FA Cup final.

De Bruyne has not been at his best this season with significant injuries having taken their toll but it’s a measure of his extraordinary ability that he averages a goal involvement (five goals, ten assists) every 125 minutes in 2024/25.

Strip all sentimentality away and he still appears to be a viable option for Gameweek 32.

Alternatively, gaffers may prefer to look to the future by recruiting Marmoush before Saturday’s 1:30pm deadline.

The Egyptian forward has hit the ground running on English shores with seven goals and two assists since his January transfer from Frankfurt.

He averages 7.7 points-per-game and is among the most in-form players in his position right now having banked 55 points from his last five outings via four goals.