In the past, Chelsea’s youth program was home to a promising young player hailing from Belgium. The player was signed away from Genk with the promise of a road to stardom at Chelsea, but the club ultimately decided that the player’s talents would be better utilized elsewhere and sold him. That youngster was none other than Kevin De Bruyne, who made a name for himself in Germany following the stuttering first period of his professional career at Cobham. He amassed 20 goals and 37 assists from 73 appearances, thereby announcing himself as one of Europe’s most formidable creative forces and consequently earning a move that would define his career as indeed a playmaker of supreme ability. De Bruyne then moved to a club that would define his career
After failing to establish himself as a regular presence in west London, Chelsea moved the ace in 2014 to German club VFL Wolfsburg for £17.8 million (€20 million), but the Premier League was surely not finished with this creative outlet at that point.
In point of fαct, Manchester City did a lot of head scratching when they broke the club record by purchasing the superstar for £55 million in 2015. After that, the rest, as they sαy, is history.
De Bruyne has a remarkable 227 direct goal contributions from 335 appearances in City colors, winning four Premier League trophies, the FA Cup, and five Carabao Cups – as well as being bestowed the honor of City’s Player of the Year on two occasions. Having cemented his role as the central talisman in Pep Guardiola’s esteemed Cityzen system, De Bruyne has recorded a remarkable 227 direct goal contributions from 335 appearances
This season alone, the “Rolls-Royce” of a midfielder, as praised by Fox’s Keith Costigan, has provided no less than 17 assists across all competitions from just 28 appearances across all competitions. This puts him only seven assists behind his record of 24 assists across all competitions in the 2020/21 season, which he set in the previous season.
The CIES Football Observatory has placed a current value of £45 million on the 97-times-capped international player, and despite being 31 years old, he still has a lot to offer, ranking exceptionally well among positional peers across a wide variety of metrics. He has a total of 97 caps for his country. In point of fαct, according to FBref, De Bruyne is ranked in the top 1% of midfielders for the rate of goals, assists, and shot-creating actions. Additionally, De Bruyne is ranked in the top 1% for progressive carries and in the top 5% for progressive carries.
A figure of unrivaled passing prowess and inexplicably fine-tuned vision, his irreplaceable stature at the beating heart of the Etihad Stadium has led to him being truly considered as one of the greatest players in the world. His stature at the Etihad Stadium has left him truly considered as one of the greatest players in the world.
It was once said by Manager Guardiola that he was “amazing,” and he genuinely is one of the most energetic and naturally gifted phenoms to ever walk English land; Chelsea must lament the day that he departed west London. Since Kevin de Bruyne’s departure from Stamford Bridge in January 2014, the club has not quite found another player in the mould of the Belgian, a creative and central playmaker with an emphasis on enhancing the collective effort of his team, and they will surely be crying out for their former gem right now, as they are languishing in ninth place in the English premier league.
It is safe to sαy that Chelsea have had their fair share of success since the Belgian technician, who was 31 at the time of his departure, left the club. However, one can only imagine the incredible creative flair that could have been firmly embedded into the Stamford Bridge core if he had been given more time to nurture and develop his skills.
In spite of the fαct that he is one of the best players of his generation and one of the all-time great midfielders in the Premier League, Chelsea let him get away from them like sand between their fingers…
