MANCHESTER City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said yesterday that Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez would be a good addition to the Blues’ squad, but not vital for the league leaders.

The Premiership front-runners have been repeatedly rumoured to be interested in buying the Chile international, though reportedly they are happy to wait until his contract finishes during the summer.

Their bid to sign the 29-year-old for £60 million in August last year failed as manager Arsene Wenger insisted that he was not for sale.

But the current absence of striker Gabriel Jesus, with a knee injury, may push City to attempt another deal before his term ends.

And for Sanchez it would mean playing once more for Pep Guardiola, who managed him at Barcelona.

De Bruyne said he was highly optimistic that Sanchez would become a Manchester City player.

However, he said, “if a good player comes to us that is better, if he doesn’t come, we do it with the team we have. We are on a good period already — the whole season. Everybody is doing a good job.

“When he comes, he will add something to the team.”

After City were given a tough test by Championship team Bristol City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final, the Belgian praised the south-west side’s performance.

“I don’t think they had a lot of chances, but they created some problems in the first half. I think we kept on playing and, in the end, I think we deserved to win it.”

Even though they faced some pressure from the Robins, Guardiola’s men held on to win through a late Sergio Aguero strike.

The two sides meet again at Ashton Gate on January 23.

“We missed too many chances, but obviously it was very good to score the second one,” De Bruyne added.

The Belgian playmaker is due to return to Premier League action against Liverpool on Sunday.