Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been appointed the club’s new vice-captain, according to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath in the last 48 hours.

The Lowdown: Gundogan takes the armband

The Sky Blues continued their excellent start to the 2022/23 Premier League campaign after securing an emphatic 4-0 victory over newly-promoted Bournemouth on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s side were led out onto the Etihad pitch by Ilkay Gundogan, and after Fernandinho’s recent departure, it’s now been confirmed that the German will be the one to take the armband for the season ahead, but he isn’t the only fresh appointment.

The Latest: De Bruyne named vice-captain

In a column written by McGrath for The Telegraph (as quoted on Twitter), it’s revealed that De Bruyne has been ‘promoted’ to City’s vice-captain after a ‘vote by the club’s players and staff’.

The Belgian was ‘fourth in the leadership group’ last season, but has now worked his way up through the ranks to second.

It’s stated that Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Rodri ‘complete’ the group, with the latter being introduced ‘for the first time’.

The Verdict: Ideal candidates

Gundogan and De Bruyne are City’s two longest-serving players from Guardiola’s current matchday squad, so they are definitely the right choices to be given the authority for the season ahead.

Since joining, the duo have made a remarkable 563 combined club appearances to date (De Bruyne 309, Gundogan 254), showing just how much experience they have under their belt.

The pair will be hoping to lead their team to yet another successful season in the top flight where the challenge to retain the title is on.