Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has backed the club's reported pursuit of his "phenomenal" Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne.

The Wolfsburg playmaker has been heavily linked with a switch to Eastlands as speculation mounts that City are preparing a £50m deal.

"Let's put it this way, he definitely wouldn't make the team weaker," Kompany told reporters. "Any team he goes to he will make them stronger. He's a phenomenal player. A complete player.

"Our squad can become stronger just by getting everyone in the right direction. We had so many players who just didn't perform last season – and I was one of them. If they do perform this year it will be like having six or seven new players. Then we will have a stronger squad.

"But players like Raheem [Sterling], [Fabian] Delph from what I've seen and Patrick Roberts too, they'll give us something different, so many options."

Earlier this week it was reported that Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona had also entered the race for the 23-year-old.