After a fantastic start to the season by Manchester City, the club have bolstered their squad further by signing former Chelsea man Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg for a reported fee of around 55 million pounds.
The Sky Blues have looked flawless in the early stages of this season and the signing of the young Belgian will only add more quality to the side. The 24-year-old becomes the second most expensive signing in English football, behind Angel Di Maria whose move to Manchester United fell just shy of the 60 million pound mark.
Still relatively young, De Bruyne has already made over 200 professional appearances for Genk, Werder Bremen, Chelsea and Wolfsburg not to mention being capped over 30 times by the Belgian national team.
Manchester City fans can complete their compulsory YouTube scouting below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWbuB1U1VMc
Last season was one of the Belgian’s best so far. He scored 16 times and registered the most assists of any player in Europe’s top five leagues with 27. City fans will be thrilled to see what their new signing can add to an already strong squad.
De Bruyne is an attacking player in general with the ability to play almost anywhere in the midfield. He excels when playing just behind the striker but can also be equally effective when deployed on the wings. Often berated by former-manager, Jose Mourinho for his defensive ineptitude, De Bruyne has shown during his time at Wolfsburg that he is still very quick and can track back to provide support to his defenders.
An extremely hard-working individual with the creative spark to set a game alight, City have truly signed a gem. Club captain, Vincent Kompany justifiably hailed De Bruyne as a ‘game-changer’.
One major question, however, is where do City fit the Belgian star in their already superb midfield?
The man most likely to be replaced is Jesus Navas who appears to be the least effective amongst the likes of David Silva and Raheem Sterling. De Bruyne also adds goals from midfield, an area where Navas has struggled in recent seasons scoring just four times in 68 outings.
The Spaniard still presents a fantastic option for Manuel Pellegrini and will surely be used during the season, especially when City are lacking in width. But it would seem like De Bruyne will fit in perfectly alongside Silva and Sterling. Sergio Aguero will be particularly delighted with the quality of service to be offered to him and you will surely see the Argentine score a lot of goals this season, provided he stays fit.
Add to this City’s tendency to create width from the overlapping runs of their fullbacks and De Bruyne’s suitability to City’s inside right channel of attack becomes even more apparent.
Tactical analysis aside, De Bruyne’s move to the Premier League adds yet another tantalising sub-plot to the mix. It was only three months ago that the Belgian vowed never to return to Chelsea while Mourinho was at the helm, expect fireworks where these sides clash again late in the season.
If all wasn’t already going well for City, the signing of the former Wolfsburg star will boost their confidence even more. With their rivals struggling to find form, City look like they will be running away with the title this season but it’s too early to jump to any conclusions.
What is for certain though, is that City will be a force to reckon with and the side seem prepared in all areas to cope with what will surely be a very challenging season ahead.
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