Thierry Henry believes Kevin De Bruyne has it in his game to finish his career as a holding midfielder.
Since joining Manchester City in 2015, the midfield maestro has been deployed in a variety of positions.
In recent years, Kevin De Bruyne has been operating as a right-sided attacking midfielder, with the freedom to occupy other zones of the pitch, as evidenced by the positions he took up against Copenhagen and Brentford in particular.
Thierry Henry says Kevin De Bruyne could finish his career as a holding midfielder
But especially in Pep Guardiola’s debut campaign at the club, the £54 million (The Telegraph) man would often play in a much deeper role.
A perfect example of De Bruyne thriving in a withdrawn role emerged during City’s 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in 2017, a game where he got on the scoresheet as well.
Since then, however, one could largely identify the treble-winner as a number 10.
But Thierry Henry can envision Kevin De Bruyne, who is 32 years of age playing as a holding midfielder by the time his career is about to come to a close.
“I can see him finishing his career lower, as a holding midfielder. He’s that clever”, he said on CBS Sports [via YouTube].
Kevin De Bruyne could take the route other great midfielders have
Several attack-minded midfielders have made up for their declining athleticism over time by playing in a deeper role, using their experience and passing range to dictate proceedings.
Kevin De Bruyne certainly has both of such attributes, which is perhaps why Thierry Henry can see him playing as a holding midfielder.
Steven Gerrard is the perfect example of this phenomenon, as he was deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for Liverpool by Brendan Rodgers during the 2013/2014 season.
The Englishman reinvented himself to perfection and went on to maintain his status as one of the Premier League’s most in-form players.
De Bruyne could certainly do so as well one day.
