🇧🇪 Kevin de Bruyne

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

I get the sentimentality for Lampard, but he cannot do as my much as De Bruyne at his age. Lest anyone forget De Bruyne LED the Bundesliga in kilometers run with 356kms. What is mind blowing is that De Bruyne has been the best Midfielder/player for Belgium (excepting for Courtois) over the last 12 months and Dortmund is courting him for the paltry sum of 17 million which some posters here seem to have no issue with....

De Bruyne should be starting for Chelsea next year and I wouldn't begrudge him one bit to move Dortmund because he'll actually have a good shot at starting there.

On the right wing?

[Leif 6,006]

If he could adapt to the right wing I feel he could be our version of Bayern's Muller. They possess very similar qualities; Only Muller is probably better at heading whereas De Bruyne is better at passing + crossing. Both have a great work rate and while not being the past tacklers they will win the ball back one way or another.

They're probably both level when it comes to finishing too.

[LukakutoStamford 779]

On the right wing?

It depends on what Dortmund's needs are and how Klopp sees De Bruyne fitting into his style. I could see De Bruyne being given lots of freedom of movement at Dortmund. I will admit I'd need to go back and watch Dortmund matches to see what Klopp does and see who Dortmund is losing. I'm of the opinion that De Bruyne is too impactful a player to leave on the bench

[Madmax 9,219]

If he could adapt to the right wing I feel he could be our version of Bayern's Muller. They possess very similar qualities; Only Muller is probably better at heading whereas De Bruyne is better at passing + crossing. Both have a great work rate and while not being the past tacklers they will win the ball back one way or another.

They're probably both level when it comes to finishing too.

I'd say they're quite different, tbh. Muller isn't pacy and he isn't a ball-player. He is very, very intelligent though. Aware. His movement is fantastic. KdB (from what I've seen) is much more technical, much more of an on-the-ball player. Not extremely pacy though.

[sutro 1,026]

A loan or selling him would be stupid imo

Here in belgium people rate him equal even higher than hazard, thats not my opinion but to be fair in our NT he's been better than eden.

This guy is a real gem, hopefully mou realise this

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

It depends on what Dortmund's needs are and how Klopp sees De Bruyne fitting into his style. I could see De Bruyne being given lots of freedom of movement at Dortmund. I will admit I'd need to go back and watch Dortmund matches to see what Klopp does and see who Dortmund is losing. I'm of the opinion that De Bruyne is too impactful a player to leave on the bench

I meant where would you see him starting for us.

[Kojo 4,676]

Sorry I can't give you post the proper respect and answer in a similarly long post, but I have an exam in 45 mins. But I will try to answer briefly. First, it's not exactly fair to hold me responsible for every criticism the board receives because of one sentence. In fact I've been among the people calling to loan out again Courtois, Chalobah and even Lukaku (depending on circumstances). But you can't say that all of those cases with our loaned players are the same.

Like I said on the previous page, it all boils down to the fact Kevin is A LOT better than plenty of the options we already have here. That's where we disagree. You say that he will be counting clouds on the bench, I say that he will at least get 30-35 appearances (not starts) for us next season because in my eyes, he is much better than Moses, Lampard, and even Oscar and more importantly Schurrle. That's where the problem is. What will you think when you know you are better than half your teammates but your club is using you just as a tool to lure a player that you are also better than? The message that the board is sending to Kevin is that they don't believe he is good enough despite everyone else believing in his ability.

KDB is similar to Oscar and Mata, I know not the same at all, but they are attacking creative type players.

Schurrle is a different player, people aren't understand this at all, they are just too bothered about the price tag.

[Kojo 4,676]

If he could adapt to the right wing I feel he could be our version of Bayern's Muller. They possess very similar qualities; Only Muller is probably better at heading whereas De Bruyne is better at passing + crossing. Both have a great work rate and while not being the past tacklers they will win the ball back one way or another.

They're probably both level when it comes to finishing too.

They are different players, Muller is more movement and work rate than De Bruyne.

That's not De Bruynes place at all, De Bruyne has far too much creativity to be placed there out wide, he needs to be playing centre also where he can kick a ball more effectively on his right foot.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

Is the hype going overboard now? Better than Muller, better than Hazard, better than Lampard...

I'll believe the hype if he plays in a Chelsea shirt next season ahead of Oscar and Moses, but I can't see that happening.

[DDA 9,938]

Finally fixed my ps3 and played a game with Belgium. What a team... Kevin is an absolute animal!

[LukakutoStamford 779]

I meant where would you see him starting for us.

Assuming Chelsea gets rid of the ill suited 4-2-3-1.

I think De Bruyne would be best suited as an attacking right midfielder and I would see something like this

Cech

Branovich Terry/ Cahill Ruiz Cole

De Bruyne Mata Oscar

Schurrle. Hazard

Ba/Lukaku/?

The problem is that line up is too attack oriented.

With Chelsea's current talent I would recommend a 4-1-4-1 but a strong DM/ sweeper would be needed.

I could also see a staggered 4-5-1 or 4-3-3. The issue is having enough defensive responsibility in the midfield so that the team can properly defend.

[Blue Gino 377]

Bit annoyed when young players like KDB, have one good loan spell, then they and their agents are talking to the media about how they are "concerned" if the club or the new manager even wants them back. Or that they don't want to come back yet because they are more concerned about losing their WC spot if they aren't being assured a first team place.

[sertu 1]

Bit annoyed when young players like KDB, have one good loan spell, then they and their agents are talking to the media about how they are "concerned" if the club or the new manager even wants them back.

Or that they don't want to come back yet because they are more concerned about losing their WC spot if they aren't being assured a first team place.

I'd be more concerned with players who would prefer to collect cash and sit on the bench the entire season instead of actually playing and improving themselves.

Also with regards to the WC: I don't see what's wrong with that. It shows they have ambition and want to play at the highest stage. You can't blame them for that. You can fret about it when they come back injured but still you can't blame the players for wanting to play for their country.

[Wiillowhobo 28]

Finally fixed my ps3 and played a game with Belgium. What a team... Kevin is an absolute animal!

There, that should be the end of this whole discussion !

[Reddish-Blue 2,503]

Bit annoyed when young players like KDB, have one good loan spell, then they and their agents are talking to the media about how they are "concerned" if the club or the new manager even wants them back. Or that they don't want to come back yet because they are more concerned about losing their WC spot if they aren't being assured a first team place.

KDB has every right to be concerned about his immediate future. He wants to play regular football and cement his place in Belgium's first XI for the World Cup.

Coming back to Chelsea and sitting on the bench won't help him.

[Peace. 4,352]

Like I said on the previous page, it all boils down to the fact Kevin is A LOT better than plenty of the options we already have here. That's where we disagree. You say that he will be counting clouds on the bench, I say that he will at least get 30-35 appearances (not starts) for us next season because in my eyes, he is much better than Moses, Lampard, and even Oscar and more importantly Schurrle. That's where the problem is. What will you think when you know you are better than half your teammates but your club is using you just as a tool to lure a player that you are also better than? The message that the board is sending to Kevin is that they don't believe he is good enough despite everyone else believing in his ability.

First of all, I'd like to say that I believe it's a misconception to say that de Bruyne is used as a tool to lure Schürll. I actually think that this is two different cases who are treated together because of some reasons. To my understanding, Chelsea is considering to loan de Bruyne ; Chelsea is interested to buy Schürll ; Leverkusen is looking for a replacement for the player they will lose ; Leverkusen is keen to take de Bryune on loan. It's of mutual interest. Leverkusen finds a player to replace Schürll and Chelsea finds a club which meets his criterias (CL football) to loan de Bruyne.

It's not like Chelsea was desperate to loan the belgian because of an overwhelming will to get the german. Actually, I think that's the german club that threw de Bruyne into the discussion, not Chelsea — their president seems to really want him. And regarding another issue, that you did not mention about this deal, but which has caused a lot of ink spill here — the 'softened' price we get because we loan them de Bruyne. A lot of people seems to be shocked that the discount is of two millions pounds. What are we expecting ? It's only a one season long loan. Last year, Atletico gave us £1m to loan Courtois, and apparently are offering us £2m this year for the same reason. So it seems to be the range of prices to loan a player — why should it be different for de Bruyne ?

In the end, we should considere this as two deals. Schürll at 22m from Leverkusen to Chelsea + de Bruyne at 2m from Chelsea to Leverkusen = Schürll from Leverkusen to Chelsea at a price of 22 millions plus de Bruyne on a one-year loan. It's not like Chelsea were throwing de Bruyne into the deal solely because we're desperate to have Schürll (and this with a softened deal).

Regarding my comment "he will count clouds while being on the bench". I never said that it will happen, nor did I say that it was my own belief. Some members here seem to be dead certain that he will have an important role and impact at Chelsea this year. Into my eyes, that is the best outcome if everything goes "to plan". The worst outcome possible is that he will only get five or ten games. The two can happen, and these outcomes' occurrence is independent of de Bruyne quality. So, the aforementioned comment of mine was only made in order counter-balance what a lot of people seems to think will occur. I merely believe that for every chance of de Bruyne displacing Oscar to be a starting XI player, there's a chance of him rotting on the bench.

We are saying that the board is doing a bad deal because to us, de Bruyne is bound to be deeply involved in the first team. But, what will we be saying next summer if de Bruyne has been overlooked throughout the season ? My comment was written in order to raise that kind of reasoning. Once again, I am not saying it will happen, but a quick look at our past record in regards of the youth integration is enough to take this unwanted outcome as more than a fantasy.

The Club is depicted as if he was not rating the belgian. But maybe, only maybe, could not it be quite the contrary ? Maybe the don't want to take the risk to obstruct his development by being not able to give him enough minutes of football, because they rate him highly ? Maybe they have great plans regarding him (either him being an important feature in our starting XI or by getting an huge profit on him) ? Now, what are the odds of that happening if he were to play for us next season ? what are the odds of that happening if he were to play for Leverkusen ? The safest bet is Leverkusen, isn't it — at least, in my opinion (and in the board's opinion it seems). It can be made out as if the Club doesn't have faith in the player, yes. But to me, the club is only trying to act in a prudent and wise way.

De Bruyne is better than Schürll. ... and ? Maybe the belgian is better than the german — I don't know. But maybe the board is looking to add to the squad some qualities/abilities that Schürll can offer and that de Bruyne cannot ? The club might be regarding de Bruyne as the better player while Schürll as the better option. I think that it is a lot more complicated than we made it out to be. One scenario will offer us some things in the upcoming season and in the following years while the other scenario will offer us different things in the up-coming season and in the following ones. The club is merely choosing one and not the other because it's the better option, in the board's opinion, for the present and future — I believe we discuss this matter from a short sighted view.

Finally, in this discussion, we seem to neglect de Bruyne's will. He has been a regular feature in the Belgian National team recently, and as things stand he looks more than likely to go to Brazil next summer. But for this to happens, he needs regular football. So maybe he himself wants to be loaned out if the Club cannot guarantee him regular playing time ? I believe the decision will be tri-parties ; the board, the manager and the player will all have their say on the question. The decision will be of mutual consent, in my honest opinion.

[Hamilton 2,120]

Talking to a Belgian website Kevin declared that he allready knows what's going to happen with him next season, but he will give explanation after his holiday.

[Stingray 9,441]

Talking to a Belgian website Kevin declared that he allready knows what's going to happen with him next season, but he will give explanation after his holiday.

Uh Ow ... sounds like a loan then.

[Stingray 9,441]

Finally, in this discussion, we seem to neglect de Bruyne's will. He has been a regular feature in the Belgian National team recently, and as things stand he looks more than likely to go to Brazil next summer. But for this to happens, he needs regular football. So maybe he himself wants to be loaned out if the Club cannot guarantee him regular playing time ? I believe the decision will be tri-parties ; the board, the manager and the player will all have their say on the question. The decision will be of mutual consent, in my honest opinion.

Hey Peace,

Love your posts but there are a lot of maybes in it ...

I just singled one out: I do think it is only natural that what Debruyne, the board and the manager want in agreement - will happen. Nobody says otherwise. Furthermore, he will be part of the Belgian NT even if he has to sit out a couple of games in Chelsea. Belgium would be foolish to leave him here when (if) going to Brazil. Fearing he might not make the team is overstating things : he was the best player in the NT. No way Wilmots is gonna leave him home.

Also: KDB has repeatedly indicated that he wants to play for Chelsea. Multiple times, actually. Of course he wants playing time - he has indeed indicated that. But there was never any mentioning a guarantee. I feel he just ants a fair shot.

That's all. If he doesn't get a chance to take that shot - due to loan spells, feeling underrated (which he has indicated once - KDB has a loose tongue a bit) isn't gonna make him more loyal or enthousiastic about the eventual, future prospect of playing here. I believe he will slip through our hands if we do that - hence the incomprehensibility of adding Schurrle in an exchange deal with KDB. That way he is regarded not as a goal 'an sich', but as a means to get to another goal (Schurrle). One can only wonder and gamble on what this does to the mind of a boy like him. We don't know.

[Hamilton 2,120]

Meanwhile sportinf director Zorc from Dortmund is telling German 'kicker' that KDB has only ears for a move to Dortmund. But first he wanted to talk to the new manager of Chelsea.