Last weekend, Racing Genk’s Kevin De Bruyne played a large part in the demolition of Leuven – admittedy not too difficult a task – with two goals in the opening 15 minutes. He looked ‘up’ for the game and that’s not been true for all of this season; sometimes his head has looked elsewhere.
That elsewhere is of course Stamford Bridge and after the game, young Kevin said he would certainly be at Genk for the rest of the season and he was not sure about the details of any imminent move. He was being diplomatic of course, as it’s 99% certain that De Bruyne will soon sign a contract with Chelsea that will tie him to the London club until the summer of 2017.
In order to avoid a “Lukaku” situation, the winger will return to Genk on loan until the summer and then go to another ‘suitable’ club for next season, rather in the manner of Thibaut Courtois. Certainly the Londoners seem to like shopping in the Belgian marketplace. That will lead to rumours about Lille’s Eden Hazard, but his destination is anyone’s guess.
AVB seemed to say that the transfer of De Bruyne is not his idea and it’s fair to say that he has more immediate goals on his mind. Young Kevin is still only 20. He’s only played around 70 league games for Genk as he’s had a bout of glandular fever and a serious leg injury since forcing his way into the team as a teenager. De Bruyne was a major force (five goals, 16 assists) in the team’s push to the title last season.
Despite his relative inexperience, he’s often been in the media spotlight and was close to signing for Chelsea last summer. De Bruyne is two-footed and has spent his entire Genk career on the left wing, where his pace, strength and football brain have combined to make him a major asset. His coach Mario Been said before the match with Club Brugge – last October – that he expected more from De Bruyne than he did from the other players; his response was a hat-trick in a 5-4 win. Unfortunately, his form has not often reached that level this season.
De Bruyne has rarely played for the Belgian youth sides and has so far received only two international caps. Admittedly, competition is strong for wing positions in the Belgium team with Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Moussa Dembélé and Nacer Chadli all in with a shout. De Bruyne’s time will come though and he once said he preferred to operate just behind the main striker, a position he played in his youth team days.
AVB has likened De Bruyne to Enzo Scifo, which for me is a poor comparison. I see more of a young Gareth Bale in the Genk winger; or rather as the Welsh winger was before taking out a gym membership. For the last word, we should go back to his current coach, Mario Been. Earlier in the season, he warned De Bruyne about thinking only of a move to a big club at a young age; he reasoned that some players – perhaps with Romelu Lukaku in mind – did that only to rot on the bench. It seems that Chelsea are doing all that’s possible to avoid that scenario.
Would just like to add that Mario Been doesn't seem to be managing Genk's dressing room very well, besides the fact that one can also question his tactical choices. The form of players that were outstanding under Vercauteren (Vossen, Vandenborre, De Bruyne) has been floundering although there have of course also been injuries.
Been likes playing DB in a central role but he has been much more prolific on the left wing. Good luck to him at Chelsea – surely a bigger talent than many of the other Belgian youngsters!