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Few people expected Kevin De Bruyne to slot straight into the Chelsea side when he returned to Stamford Bridge in the summer, despite his impressive form in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen. But when Jose Mourinho gave him the nod to start the Blues’ opening game of the Premier League season it quickly looked as though the Portuguese coach had made a shrewd move as De Bruyne claimed an assist in the early stages of the game.
However, since his imposing appearance against Hull he has played just over 60 minutes of league football for the club and was subsequently ignored from the club’s Champions League squad which has sparked mixed emotions across west London.
It was never going to be an easy feat to dismantle the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar or two-time Chelsea Player of the Year Juan Mata. Nor would it be a simple task to block new signings Willian or Andre Schurrle from working their way into the first team. But coming in on the back of a season in which he scored 10 goals and claimed 11 assists in the German topflight, as well as impressing in the little time that he performed at Chelsea, De Bruyne can certainly feel unhappy that he hasn’t been considered more important this term.
While the majority expect him to be shipped out in January there is still a pocket of fans who are determined to see him stay and grow into his potential at the club. The 22-year-old is an exceptionally creative player whose delivery into the box can be matched by few, and while he isn’t as resolute as Oscar in terms of tracking back, he offers far more going forward.
Last season at Bremen the playmaker was the artist behind 85 chances in the Bundesliga, which is just one less than Ballon d’Or nominee Franck Ribery managed for Bayern Munich, and won 59% of his 167 attempted take-ons.
De Bruyne’s Bundesliga goals last season
De Bruyne’s chances created in the Bundesliga last seasonThe Belgian is a player who would rather slide a ball into the path of a centre-forward than run at a full-back, but wherever he is on the pitch there is potential danger for the opposition. A large chunk of his key passes were actually from central areas of the pitch – 43.5% to be precise – while 29.4% came from his favoured right side and the other 27.1% from the left.
Like Oscar and Mata, De Bruyne is willing to fizz an effort at goal from improbable angles, as you can see from the latter’s graphic, but it’s his willingness to get himself into the area that really sets him apart from other wide men.
De Bruyne’s Bundesliga goals last season
Although he hasn’t been able to show it this season, you can see from his Heat Map in his final game for Bremen just how determined he is to offer himself in and around the opposition area, and in this particular tie he made four key passes, sparkling in a side who had not tasted victory in their 12 games prior to the defeat.
De Bruyne stats
De Bruyne deserves first-team football whether it be at Stamford Bridge or elsewhere, but should Mourinho offload the talented youngster then he may want to inject some sort of buy-back clause in his contract as he has the potential to be an incredible player.
