Who would have thought Kevin De Bruyne would be this good when Jose Mourinho first brought him to the Premier League five years ago? He certainly didn’t burst on the scene like a certain Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo did years back, he crept up on us.
When Mourinho first brought him to the Premier League, he was this slight, and seemingly weak attacking midfielder who seemed to be finding it difficult to adapt to the physicality and quality of the league. He had his moments, but one could not categorically predict that he would be one of the best in the world, especially after Mourinho accused him of being mentally weak and sold him to Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga for £18million.
Regular games for Wolfsburg certainly helped his skills and experience, as by the end of his first season, he was already showing himself to be something special. In his second season at the club, he racked up ten league goals, (sixteen in all competitions) and twenty-one league assists (27 in all competitions) which was a record setting feat in the Bundesliga.
There is always some measure of belief among Premier League fans that before a player can truly claim to be the best, he has to conquer the English Premier League first, as the league is considered the toughest in Europe. A move to Manchester City gave De Bruyne this opportunity, and as it turns out, he may well and truly be one of the best, if not the outright best in his position.
After Manchester City’s demolition of Stoke City in their last fixture, in which De Bruyne gave a 10/10 performance, Pep Guardiola responded to comments from the English Media calling the Belgian the best. He responded by playing down the claims, insisting that De Bruyne has to win titles first before claiming the tag, but does he really?
Kevin De Bruyne has created twenty-six chances already this season, more than any other player in the Premier League, and it is just September. Since his move to England, even including his first largely disappointing Premier League stint with Chelsea, no player has assisted more goals than him.
It isn’t even just about the numbers, it is also the way he plays and influences games; since his move away from Chelsea, De Bruyne has been majorly involved in basically everything his club does in attack whenever he is on the pitch. He is a smooth operator who just goes about his business with minimal fuss, and comparing other players in his position, it is clear that De Bruyne has the best overall gameplay and end result of them all.
While players like Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Isco, David Silva, Eden Hazard, etc might want to stake a claim for the tag of the best attacking midfield player in the world, the truth is that none of them has as much influence and end product for their respective teams as Kevin De Bruyne consistently does for his teams. Kevin De Bruyne is not just currently the best attacking midfielder in the Premier League, he is the best in the world.