Manchester City fans have already begun the grieving process over Kevin De Bruyne leaving the club.
The Belgian will bid farewell this summer, with De Bruyne leaving City at the end of his contract.
It was a development that some felt was coming, but it really hurt nonetheless.
De Bruyne is undoubtedly a Manchester City legend for all the contributions he’s made to the club’s success in recent years.
The star signed from Wolfsburg in 2016 for a £55 million transfer fee, which some pundits famously questioned.
But De Bruyne quickly set about showing his class, and went on to become one of the best players the Premier League has ever seen.
In recent times, De Bruyne’s physicality has understandably decreased. And there’s one thing he didn’t end up doing at City that has surprised pundit Jamie Carragher.
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Jamie Carragher surprised Kevin De Bruyne didn’t become a deep-lying playmaker for Man City
De Bruyne has always been a high-octane player.
The star is a creator, but it was always common to see him sprinting from box to box for City, and he is faster than a lot of people realise.
In recent times, De Bruyne’s physicality has been waning, although we did see a brilliant burst from him down the right channel against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Some had wondered if De Bruyne might change position as he got older.
But that never happened at City, which has surprised Jamie Carragher.
He said on Monday Night Football: “The one thing I always thought was he might end up going back as a player, in this position (deep in midfield). In like a Xabi Alonso role, sort of dictating the play. I always thought that would be his natural progression, but sadly, he’s moving on.”
Why De Bruyne may not have moved to deeper role at Man City
Carragher makes an interesting point.
De Bruyne is obviously one of the very best creators around and one of the best creators in the history of the Premier League.
His creativity hasn’t really suffered too much, unlike his physicality, and one might have thought a deep-lying playmaker role would have suited him.
But it never went that way, presumably because City had Rodri to play in that role on his own.
This season, it would probably have been too much of a risk to have De Bruyne playing in that holding midfield role in Rodri’s absence. It’s perhaps not an experiment you want to try out while the team is struggling.
Ultimately, De Bruyne is a risk-taker when it comes to passing. Pep Guardiola may have felt that he may not have suited a role that demands a player to be extremely accurate and to take more care over the ball.
