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Kevin De Bruyne: Chelsea’s Gift Or A Headache?

Kevin De Bruyne is somewhat a problem for Chelsea – a lovely problem to have, perhaps, as he’s simply exceeded all expectations out on loan at Werder Bremen. The midfielder who joined the Blues from Genk at the start of this season was immediately loaned out to Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and according to whoscored.com, Kevin has actually been Chelsea’s best midfielder this season – even ahead of Mata and Hazard. Perhaps this isn’t a fair reflection, but it does somewhat give an indication as to just how good he has been – definitely Werder’s standout player of the season.

Kevin De Bruyne's statistics
Kevin De Bruyne’s statistics this season

Today, De Bruyne told La DH (Belgian newspaper) that he’s open to the idea of another loan preferably in the Bundesliga. But having proved his worth, is it a good idea? – My answer: Yes.

For starters, the youngster cannot expect the same amount of playing time that he has enjoyed with the German outfit which is a huge risk considering the impact he has made in the Bundesliga. The more he spends time on the bench the more are the chances of getting frustrated and lose concentration which could result in poor match performances and can probably end up in a mid-table team the following year. If he was to go on loan again, it is presumed that he wouldn’t stay with Werder, but take a step up and play for Wolfsburg or even Leverkusen.

Considering he comes back to Stamford Bridge, where would he fit in? He needs a defensive midfielder next to him in order to work in the double pivot which rules out the possibility of working with Ramires as the 25-year old’s strongest assets is to join the attacks up-front. And with Mikel, it might work but the question is if De Bruyne would be able to perform the minimum amount of defensive work required in a double pivot anyway! Judging by the above stats, he has very poor defensive skills and although he is an attacking midfielder he will be demanded to defend when playing in EPL. Albeit if Lampard eventually does sign a new contract, it’d appear even more hopeless for the youngster.

In that case it leaves him no option but to play in a more advanced role just behind the striker which will raise another question of whom to replace with. Mata? Hazard? Oscar? Moses? that’s an headache for any manager. The best bet for De Bruyne and Chelsea could be if they can somehow change their current formation to try and fit him in, but with a prospective new manager to take up the hot-seat next season, he will be hesitant to change the current formation which has been best suited for them in recent times.

With a wealth of options, who are more natural in this position will only push De Bruyne down the pecking order. The situation with Kevin De Bruyne is a head-scratcher indeed. He’s a quality player, no doubt but just like Courtois, it’s hard to predict what will happen with him.

My guess though would be at-least another season on loan and the season after that? well we could think about it later on. He was an excellent capture but the Blues will have to wait and see what the future beholds for the Belgian.

Recently, Kevin De Bruyne has impressed everyone with 2 very good performances for Belgium, where he especially proved a threat on his crosses.