Kevin de Bruyne

[the wes 7,212]

mourinho will end up with an egg on his face if he does well for city

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

Where exactly would he play there?

Silva is the 10 and runs the show with occasional help from Yaya. Sterling and Navas are there to stretch out the play. Sterling is safe so he would have to go after Navas spot. Is he able to play the winger role as good as Navas? Seems a waste to spend so much money on him just to play him out of position, or even worse, use him solely as a bench warmer for Silva.

[Tomo 21,733]

It is utter bullshit to say we could "impossibly have known that De Bruyne would develop into such a big player in only 18 monhts after leaving Chelsea."

De Bruyne has been absolutely brilliant everywhere he played, Genk, Werder Bremen, Belgium, Wolfsburg. His impressive season at Wolfsburg was no more than the normal continuation of his natural development. It was only interrupted for a couple of months - what a shame!! - at Chelsea.

So stop acting like we got rid of a shit player who by some amazing turn of events started developping into a wonder player. Miracles don't exist.

I remember Belgian CFC fans like myself being called stupid Belgian fanboys every time we complained about KDB not playing. But we knew how good he was, and how extraordinary he'd become. That's why it was so frustrating for us to see how he got completely ignored by Mourinho.

Players can leave and do well without it being a mistake, how many Barca fans do you reckon even remotely care about Yaya Toure, let alone cause massive uproar about it?

He's gone and done very well, fair play, but will I be thinking of De Bruyne when Hazard has one of his touched by God games, or when Pedro slams home his 15th goal of the season? Not a chance.

[hamad138 190]

Maybe fernandinho goes to bench

[Tomo 21,733]

The biggest difference between us and City financially is that they have an almost limitless amount of wealth, we don't. We rely on only one guy for our transfer budget. They have an entire conglomerate backing them. They're about to spend 150 mil pounds in this transfer window like it's nothing and can do so every season if they choose with the relaxing of FFP. We can't do this.

Aren't we relentlessly chasing Stones and trying to get Pogba in?

If those come off our spending will be about £130m, the fact alone were chasing them suggests we can spend that amount.

[Tomo 21,733]

Maybe fernandinho goes to bench

I hope so.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

Maybe fernandinho goes to bench

And then who defends? Yaya alone?

Fernandinho is the reason their attack can do what they do. He's been their best player this season by far.

[ParNolio7 285]

@Tomo : I get your point but I don't see how that's relevant. I'm not expecting anyone to care about the fact that KDB is not playing for Chelsea anymore, I probably wouldn't either if he weren't Belgian, I can admit to that, but I just want to people here to stop making all these bullshit excuses about him:

- "He didn't train well" - ridiculous;

- "He couldn't cope with the pressure" - ridiculous;

- "He was a cry baby" - ridiculous;

- "He wasn't half the player he's become at Wolfsburg" - ridiculous.

Mourinho didn't want him, for whatever reason, and all the rest is just horse piss.

And you're right, Chelsea 's done well without him, and KDB has done well without Chelsea. Just like Touré at Barcelona and so on. So other than the financial loss, there's not really a problem, but that was never my point.

[Tomo 21,733]

@Tomo : I get your point but I don't see how that's relevant. I'm not expecting anyone to care about the fact that KDB is not playing for Chelsea anymore, I probably wouldn't either if he weren't Belgian, I can admit to that, but I just want to people here to stop making all these bullshit excuses about him:

- "He didn't train well" - ridiculous;

- "He couldn't cope with the pressure" - ridiculous;

- "He was a cry baby" - ridiculous;

- "He wasn't half the player he's become at Wolfsburg" - ridiculous.

Mourinho didn't want him, for whatever reason, and all the rest is just horse piss.

And you're right, Chelsea 's done well without him, and KDB has done well without Chelsea. Just like Touré at Barcelona and so on. So other than the financial loss, there's not really a problem, but that was never my point.

Fair enough

[ParNolio7 285]

@Sir Mikel OBE: "Fernandinho is their best player this season by far" ... Seriously?

I have tons of respect for defensive midfielders, and their work can never be estimated enough, but I think it's pretty clear for everyone that Touré & Silva are the true stars of City this season ... Even Fernandinho will gladly admit to that. It's what he's playing for.

[ParNolio7 285]

Tomorrow I'll know if me & my mates have tickets for Chelsea - Everton on January 16th ... Excited as f*****ck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fly to London, two nights out, see the Chelsea game ... Life

[lionsden 4,689]

Sometimes it's alright to admit that Jose isn't faultless. He's a big man who can defend/take care of himself you know. One (heck even 2) bad games isn't a justifiable reason to literally abandon any player permanently which is what happened to KDB who was at risk of losing his place in the Belgium world cup squad. He was poor against swindon (so what). If players only played based on merit and for then rarely anyone would be involved in 90 plus percent of matches. even Hazard wouldn't be in the starting 11 right now.

Ultimately both parties are at fault here with the largest potion of it going to Jose. He's well known for his favoritism and if you are not among his favorites then you are shit out of luck. which is a terrible way to manage a squad/team imo.

[the wes 7,212]

Aren't we relentlessly chasing Stones and trying to get Pogba in?

If those come off our spending will be about £130m, the fact alone were chasing them suggests we can spend that amount.

theres must be a loop hole in the financial fairplay rule thats why city are spending like fuck

[Tomo 21,733]

theres must be a loop hole in the financial fairplay rule thats why city are spending like fuck

The TV deals have made a fully implemented FFP an irrelevance in England, let alone a relaxed FFP.

[Tomo 21,733]

Tomorrow I'll know if me & my mates have tickets for Chelsea - Everton on January 16th ... Excited as f*****ck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fly to London, two nights out, see the Chelsea game ... Life

Good luck mate hope you get them.

If you want my advice go in as soon as the gates open, for me part of the expierence is going in and seeing the ground in all its glory before it fills up, in some ways its as good as the game itself.

[Stats 7,059]

I am shocked to see the amount of people who are saying what City are preparing to pay is ludicrous money. In this current market, considering his age and what he contributed, that £50m to £60m is not much. Bale went for over £80m, ADM went to United for just under £60m, Suarez went for around a similar amount, Sterling went for £49m and then Pogba is being talked about leaving for around £70m plus.

Now look what KDB contributed last season for Wolfsburg and his potential. It is not ludicrous amount of money. Personally, I think Wolfsburg could easily be asking for more considering KDB value for them. He has goals, assists and is pretty much a complete no.10 who can also play out wide. Yeah, Navas has started well but it is 3 games played. Over the whole season, will he do as well? Not so sure. They are paying what is required to take them to the next level and if they get KDB for around £50m or so I think that is good business in today's market. Especially when you consider the prices of other players.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

@Sir Mikel OBE: "Fernandinho is their best player this season by far" ... Seriously?

I have tons of respect for defensive midfielders, and their work can never be estimated enough, but I think it's pretty clear for everyone that Touré & Silva are the true stars of City this season ... Even Fernandinho will gladly admit to that. It's what he's playing for.

Toure, and Silva to an extent, have only been able to do what they do thanks to the foundation he has layer down in their midfield. I remember how average thee guys looked with Fernando out there last year, and the difference is night and day. Fernandinho is what their title winning season was built on two years ago, and it looks the same this season so far with the rest in shape. Silva, and even tour against the smaller sides, don't have to put much worry into defending because they have a mobile rock in the midfield. It completely changes the complexion of the team.

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

Kristof Terreur ‏@HLNinEngeland 24m24 minutes ago

No Kevin De Bruyne in tomorrow's squad. We all know what that means. #medicalpending