Kevin De Bruyne

 

Kevin De Bruyne

Kevin De Bruyne

Date of Birth: - 28th June 1991

Nationality: - Belgian

Height: - 5ft 11inches

Position: - Attacking Midfielder

Linked With: - N/A

Club History: - Gent
- Genk
- Chelsea

Estimated Market Value: - de Bruyne signed for Chelsea on the 31st January 2012 for a fee around 9million pounds.


Club Career

Gent:
de Bruyne began his career with Gent in 2003 at the age of 11, and immediately joined their youth ranks.

After spending two years in Gents youth setup, he left the club and joined Racing Genk. De Bruyne continued his development through their youth set-up but was more patient this time, as he spent around 5 years coming through the ranks.


Racing Genk:
In 2008, de Bruyne was rewarded for his progress through the youth setup by being given an opportunity with the first team squad, and de Bruyne took this opportunity by putting in several good performances (usually coming off of the bench) as well as developing through the 'B' side.

9 May 2009 - de Bruyne made his first team debut as a starter for Genk in a 3-0 defeat at Charleroi.

In the 2009/2010 season, he established himself as a regular starter for the Belgian side and became an instrumental figure within the side.

7th February 2010 - de Bruyne scored his first goal for Genk, which secured all three points for Genk in a 1-0 win against Standard Liege.

De Bruyne scored five goals and made 16 assists in 32 league matches during the 2010/2011 season as Genk were crowned Belgian champions for the third time in their history, and was a huge fan favourite at such a young age.

29th October 2011 - At the start of the 2011/2012 season, de Bruyne scored his first hat-trick for Genk against Club Brugge which ended in a 5-4 win for Genk.

In this season also, de Bruyne and Genk made its first appearance in the group stages of the Champions League, and impressed a lot of people with their good performances, most notably a home draw against Chelsea.

Genk had also picked up a lot of media attention, and especially from none other than Soccer AM, regarding Genk as the underdogs of the competition and creating the slogan of: 'All aboard the Genk...bus'.

28th January 2012 - de Bruyne scored a brace against OH Leuven in a 5-0 win and continued to impress.


Chelsea
31st January 2012 - On transfer deadline day, Chelsea and KRC Genk announced the permanent signing of De Bruyne, with the fee rumoured to be in the region of 9 million pounds. He signed a five-and-a-half-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but was loaned back to Genk for the remainder of the 2011/2012 season.

Since his loan back to Genk, he has made (as of 06/04/2012) 11 appearances and scored 4 goals.


International Career:
11th August 2010 - de Bruyne made his debut for the Belgium national senior side in an international friendly against Finland in Turku, and the game ended in a 1-0 loss for Belgium.


Club Statistics:
Genk (as of 06/04/2012) - 112 appearances, 26 goals and 44 assists.


General Comments:
This profile was done especially for Chelsea fans, as I haven't done an awful lot for the Chelsea side, and there were several requests for this profile so here you guys are. You've got yourself a very good player. For me, the best thing about this player, is how unknown he is. When Chelsea announced the signing of de Bruyne, everyone turned their heads and said, who on earth is that!? Well I can tell you, he looks a very promising young talent. I've watched him a fair bit, and in all honesty, he reminds me of Xabi Alonso but with more attacking prowess. If he's groomed correctly, he'll be the same caliber if not better than Alonso, and Chelsea will have one of the worlds best centre midfielders. That is purely based on his potential. Do I think he will reach that potential? Well, honestly? Not with Chelsea. I feel that unless Chelsea have a reshuffle of their midfield and get rid of the likes of Lampard and Mikel, de Bruyne wont have a shot at being the player he's capable of. I expect de Bruyne to sit in the reserves for a fair bit, and then get threaded through into the first team over time, but it's about whether or not he gets consistent playing time, and how long it takes for him to get that playing time. If Chelsea do it in the right manner, they'll have a truly great player, as he has one HELL of a shot on him, and he scores some screamers, that I can tell you. He also has great vision for passing, as he can spurt a pass from one corner of the pitch to another with ease, or play little flicks. He just creates goals, and has the pace to match. He ticks all the boxes for a midfielder for me, but it will depend on if he can get thread into the first-team, and how he copes with the league change at a relatively young age.

Thanks all,

Ed022-}