30th of January 2015 at the Volkswagen Arena; the day I became fully aware that Kevin De Bruyne is a star player. (I curiously chose to write about Bas Dost instead.) On that night VFL Wolfsburg trashed German champions Bayern Munich 4-1 with two goals and an assist from De Bruyne. That was definitely the game that forced Europe to acknowledge the worth of a new prized no.10.
De Bruyne began his professional career in Belgium and broke into Genk’s first team in the 2008-09 season at the tender age of 17. He spent the next two years as a bit part player finally becoming a key part of the XI in the 2011-12 season. He made 28 appearances in the Belgian Pro League contributing 8 goals and 10 assists. His performances led to a £7 million move to Chelsea (who signed Belgian counterparts Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois around the same time.) He was loaned to Bundesliga side Werder Bremen for 2012-13 season and he came up with yet another productive season with 10 league goals and 9 assists. It certainly seemed like he was ready to take the Premier League by storm in the 2013-14 season but he was unable to fit in to Mourinho’s tactical plans and he was sold to Wolfsburg in January 2014 for £18 million after only 3 appearances for Chelsea. His torrid time at Chelsea, where he claims to have lost the joy of playing football, threatened to diminish his stock but he has done incredibly well to repair his image in the last year and a half.
2014-15 was the season of De Bruyne. He was Wolfsburg’s main man leading them to the DFB Pokal Cup and a second place Bundesliga finish. His man of the match performances in big games such as the victories over Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were crucial in the team’s unlikely challenge for the title. Wolfsburg scored 71 goals in the Bundesliga and De Bruyne was responsible for 30 of them (42%) with 10 goals and 20 assists(a Bundesliga record). He also scored 6 and provided another 7 in 11 domestic and European cup competitions. 16 goals and 28 assists in 51 games is an absolutely amazing record for a playmaker. Winning Player of the Year at a team that wasn’t Bayern was a formidable feat.
The brown-haired Belgian is comfortable playing off the right and left wings and cutting in but is most dangerous through the middle. He is neither the quickest nor the most skillful player but his intelligence on the ball gives him an edge over defenders in one on one situations. He is not the tidiest with possession with a 75% pass accuracy last season but that is a likely result of the risky passes he attempts. He loves to stretch play with long balls across the pitch and has consistently broken up defences with his through balls. He is an impressive crosser of the ball providing great deliveries off the wings and from set pieces. These are typical aspects of the archetypal no 10 but something De Bruyne has going for him that many playmakers presently shy away from is shooting from outside the area. Another important side of his game is that he rarely slows down the pace of his team with excessive touches and he is particularly lethal on the counter attack.
£55 million is what Manchester City paid for his services making him the second most expensive signing in British history and their most expensive signing. City already have a lot of pace and guile in attack so the question is: what else will the Belgian midfielder be able to bring to their plate? His last foray in English football was in all ways forgettable but without the shackles of defensive contribution so dearly demanded by Mourinho expect this to be a memorable one.
References
2008-14 statistics via transfermarkt.co.uk
2014-15 statistics via whoscored.com
First image courtesy of skysports.com
Second and Third image courtesy of mirror.co.uk