Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has had a bright start to the 2024/2025 season.
Gabby Agbonlahor lauded De Bruyne for his masterful display in City’s latest 4-1 win against Ipswich Town.
Troy Deeney described De Bruyne’s display as “unbelievable” against Ipswich as well.
Against Chelsea, the £54.5 million man looked like he was getting into the swing of things once after missing pre-seaason.
But in his side’s recent victory against Kieran McKenna’s side, De Bruyne looked closer to his sharpest self as he ran the show — scoring a goal and going on to assist Erling Haaland’s strike as well.
De Bruyne is playing in a new role so far this campaign where is on playing as the deepest player on the left-hand side of a midfield diamond.
However, it does not seem like the Manchester City legend is struggling to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s demand.
Outrageous statistic emerges about Manchester City superstar
After having won as many trophies as the Belgian international has at the Etihad Stadium, a worry could have been about his motivation heading into the season.
But De Bruyne seems hungry and ready to help Pep Guardiola’s side clinch their fifth Premier League title in succession — based on his sparkling start to the campaign.
The former VFL Wolfsburg maestro does not have too much life playing at the top level unless he chooses to play into his late thirties like Luka Modric and Thiago Silva.
As a result, the six-time Premier League winner would be determined to make every game count.
WhoScored.com have revealed that De Bruyne has played the most passes in the final third out of any player in Europe’s top five leagues this season (64).
Lamine Yamal (62), Manuel Akanji (61), Achraf Hakimi (59) and Vitinha (59) all sit below him amongst the top five players in this list.
Kevin De Bruyne has a fearless approach to passing
De Bruyne does not seem to fear playing risky passes.
A major facet of the decorated attacker’s game is to pick out his teammates in dangerous areas and help them score goals.
As a result, it comes as no surprise that De Bruyne is leading when it comes to such a metric.
The City vice-captain could simply play horizontal passes to his teammates.
However, such an approach would not only take away from De Bruyne’s game but also affect Manchester City, who rely on his outstanding passing range to put the ball into the back of the net.
Furthermore, a risk-averse approach from the Drongen-born midfielder would also mean that the Premier League winners would be underutilising a great goalscorer like Haaland in their side.
De Bruyne is seemingly aware of such realities, which prompts him to find the Norwegian and other attackers in the final third.
The Sky Blues talisman’s direct approach is also what makes him one of the Premier League’s best entertainers.
