He's installed himself amongst the world's elite this season by leading Manchester City's charge in the Premier League and Europe, and now Nike seem set to have bigger plans for Kevin De Bruyne as he trained in a mystery blackout boot this morning.
De Bruyne's stock is high, and with a World Cup just around the corner Nike are upping their preparations for Russia 2018, with the Belgian firmly in their thoughts. The Manchester City playmaker has been wearing the Magista silo this season, playing a relatively low-key role in Nike campaigns, but that could be about to change as he debuts what looks to be an all-new silhouette.
It's no secret that the Magista is ready for its next move. After all, the second generation Magista boot launched in July 2016, and Nike don't tend to stick on the same card for more than two years. A release ahead of the World Cup is inevitable, whether that's a Magista III or a new silo entirely. A first look at De Bruyne's blackout boots indicates it could well be the latter.
The silhouette looks to have taken on a complete re-design with numerous standout changes. Most notably the blackout boots feature a mesh lace cover built onto a one piece Flyknit upper, with a compression styled mid-collar coming up through the interior of the design. The outstep of the boot looks clean, but there's visible ball control technology on the instep, and a reinvented soleplate down below.
What we're looking at here will undoubtably lead the Swoosh into the 2018 World Cup along with the next-generation Mercurial that we've already seen Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar both testing. Don't expect Nike to be shouting about De Bruyne's footwear anytime soon, mind. There's likely to be bigger show on Swoosh minds before attentions turn to this new-generation project.
Stay tuned for the latest on De Bruyne's Nike blackout boots...
