De Bruyne claims 'people don't appreciate' Haaland because of drop off

Kevin De Bruyne has given a shout out to Manchester City's underappreciated star as they sit on the precipice of a record fourth-straight Premier League title.

Pep Guardiola's side need only match Arsenal's result this weekend to stand alone in top-flight history, and If they do, they'll be thankful of the contribution of several star players as well as their manager.

On Thursday, Phil Foden was named Football Writer's Footballer of the Year, while midfield metronome Rodri is regularly hailed for his crucial contribution to the City system.

However, in De Bruyne's view, Erling Haaland has slipped under the radar, despite following up his 52-goal debut season with 38 in this campaign.

'The season he had last year and the numbers were so incredible and ridiculous,' De Bruyne said. 'When you have a season where it's a little bit less, people don't appreciate what you've done.

'But he's now on 27 goals and probably going to win the Golden Boot again. It's incredible. He's been amazing again and he'll always do what he does.

'For Player of the Season, if I look at our team, I'd say either Phil or Rodri, because of their importance. There are also some really good players in other teams – at Arsenal, there's been a few, and Ollie Watkins has been amazing for Aston Villa.'

Haaland extended his lead in the Golden Boot race with a race against Tottenham on Tuesday night. His impressive tally this season has come despite missing two months through injury.

City welcome West Ham to the Etihad on Sunday, while Arsenal entertain Everton at the Emirates.

De Bruyne believes City deserve respect for getting to the brink of a record-breaking fourth title in a row. Guardiola's reigning champions have a two-point lead over the Gunners heading into this weekend's final round of fixtures.

'You have to appreciate what you do throughout the whole year to be in this situation.' He added.

'People always talk about trophies, but we work for 11 months to get to this situation and if you don't enjoy it along the way, what does it really mean? That one game, if we win or don't win, it's not going to change how I feel how well we did this season.

'I know there's a lot of talk afterwards, but the way I see it is that this team has done incredible after the successes we've had in the last few years. It's credit to the whole team to be in this situation again.'