Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne
Current Club: Napoli.
Previous Clubs: Manchester City, VfL Wolfsburg, Chelsea, KRC Genk.
Loan Clubs: Werder Bremen, KRC Genk.
International: Belgium 111 caps 31 goals.
Trophies Won: English League Cup top scorer 2015/16. Champions League 2022/23. English Premier League 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2022/23, 2022/23, 2023/24. German FA Cup 2014/15. English FA Cup 2019, 2023. FIFA Club World Cup 2024. German Super Cup 2015/16. English League Cup 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021. Community Shiel 2018/19, 2019/20, 2024/25. Belgian League 2010/11. Belgian FA Cup 2009. Belgian Super Cup 2011/12.
De Bruyne is one of the greatest players of the Premier League era, with the glittering trophies to match his ability, despite having a rocky start to his time in the Prem. His time in the Bundesliga saw him blossom as a player, though there were still a lot of naysayers about his price when Man City moved to bring him back to England. They soon shut up though, as his hard graft and passing range brought trophy after trophy to the Cityzens.
That is probably the main key to his success, despite always looking like he is on the verge of self-combusting, he is not afraid to put the hard yards in. While he is a much better player on the front foot playing the ball forward, De Bruyne is a very willing worker, getting back to help out on both ends of the pitch. He is very much a team player, who was a key part of Citeh's success in the Pep Guardiola era.
Physically he is mobile but not blisteringly quick, strong but not outstandingly so, he is not the best in the air or, in fact, outstanding in any physical aspect of the game, except maybe his stamina. Though even that has been showing signs of deterioration in recent seasons, probably down to the injury problems he has suffered adversely affecting his fitness. Last season there were some clear signs of him slowing down and losing a step or two, which is why a move to a slower league should benefit him greatly and help extend his career.
What he does provide, as well as the ability to hit a shot with real venom from distance, is creativity. De Bruyne has excellent vision, he can spot a player's run from pretty much anywhere on the pitch, and he has the range of passing to pick that run out. It was very telling that Erling Haaland's goals dried up when he was out injured, City had no one else who could quite pick him out the way De Bruyne could.
Given time and space, De Bruyne can be devastating, pinging the ball around to great effect, which is, I think, the main difference between peak De Bruyne and the current one. Peak De Bruyne needed neither space nor time, he could produce even under severe pressure and was able to help City to break the press regularly. That loss of a step has meant it takes him a little longer to see the pass and then play it, just enough to give an opponent time to react to it or to close the space down so that the pass is not on.
All good things do come to an end, and for Citeh fans this is probably the right time for De Bruyne to move on, great as he has been for them. His regular injury spells, added to the loss of a step has seen him becoming less and less effective, to the point he struggled to even hold down a place in the side, something that would have been unthinkable a year or two ago. I am sure Scott McTominay is rubbing his hands together with glee at the thought of him feeding balls into him to attack next season!
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