Manchester City ace Kevin De Bruyne: 'Raheem Sterling will only improve'

Kevin De Bruyne has warned the Premier League that Raheem Sterling will only improve after scoring three times in Manchester City's 5-1 win over Bournemouth.

The Citizens' £49m man lit up the Etihad with a hat-trick in Saturday's rout, with De Bruyne - who fetched a club-record £54m - assisting Sterling's second.

"He's really good, he's only 20 years old so there's a lot more to come," he told reporters. "But he made the goals look easy today and that will only help his confidence.

"He likes to run deep and that makes it easier to find him, I'll try to play that ball.

"Sometimes it will work well, like today, and other times maybe he will not arrive. But if he makes runs like that it's good for me. If a player has pace like that it's always an advantage."

Manuel Pellegrini's side remain top of the Premier League, two points clear of Arsenal and Manchester United.