Expectations are high that Kevin De Bruyne will be a success at Manchester City, following his £54m summer move from Wolfsburg. The Premier League’s second most expensive signing arrives on the back of a fine 2014/15 season in the Bundesliga, where ten goals and 20 assists saw him named Football of the Year in Germany. Can the Belgian replicate this form in the Premier League, though? And what does his arrival mean for the attacking output of Manchester City’s other stars?
With plenty to ponder, we ask the burning question: Will De Bruyne change our thinking on Manchester City’s attack?
Dufflinks (aka FPL 2014/15 Champion Simon March) says…
Kevin de Bruyne could be a very smart purchase for Manchester City. Not only is he a significant upgrade on Jesus Navas and Samir Nasri, De Bruyne’s dynamism and versatility substantially increases Manuel Pellegrini’s options in the attacking third.
While this probably sounds like great news for City fans, words like ‘versatility’ and ‘options’ have a tendency to cause discomfort among Fantasy managers. The good news for those considering De Bruyne is that, with a reported real-world price tag of £54m, you’d have to assume he’s firmly nailed-on and his historical output practically scream Fantasy points potential. If he can deliver 10 goals and 20 assists in a season at Wolfsburg, you can only imagine the potential he has at City with the luminous talents of David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Sergio Aguero alongside him.
That said, there are still some key unknowns, which, for me, do encourage some caution.
Firstly there’s the question of where he’ll play. De Bruyne appears best-suited to the number 10 role yet he’ll have his work cut out to depose a truly extraordinary incumbent in David Silva from that position. De Bruyne can deliver from the wings but, whether he can provide the output from a wide position to justify his FPL 10.0 price tag, remains to be seen.
There’s also the question of how De Bruyne will adapt to the Premier League. It was less than two seasons ago that he found himself unable to break into the Chelsea first team and, while that fact does deserve to be viewed with a bit more context, he still has something to prove here. Also, with all due respect to Nicklas Bendtner, De Bruyne was the main man at Wolfsburg. He will not, as was the case at Chelsea, enjoy the same status at Manchester City.
Can he continue to shine as brightly among such a star-studded line-up?
Then there’s that FPL price. At 10.0, De Bruyne matches the starting price of the long-proven Silva and substantially exceeds a host of viable, established midfield options both at City, notably in Raheem Sterling and Yaya Toure, and throughout the game in players such as Juan Mata and, well, almost the entire Arsenal midfield. De Bruyne will have to deliver some serious points in order to provide standout value among such illustrious company.
De Bruyne has the potential to be an excellent Fantasy Football asset but, for now at least, I’ll be keeping faith with the tried-and-trusted David Silva as my City midfielder of choice. If I were a Raheem Sterling owner, I would probably do the same. What I don’t doubt is that De Bruyne’s arrival improves City as an overall attacking force but, in my view, the most immediate imperative that creates for Fantasy managers is to make sure you own Sergio Aguero. With the addition of De Bruyne, the already prolific star striker surely has now one of the best supporting casts in Europe. As if he actually needed it.
Mark says…
I was waiting on Rate My Team’s verdict on De Bruyne with keen interest. The results were as I expected – the Belgian’s arrival at the Etihad took a bite out of both David Silva and even Sergio Aguero’s projected assist returns.
The logic is clear. While City will be more potent, more creative with De Bruyne in their ranks, it’s difficult to judge just how many additional goals he’ll introduce. It’s perhaps more likely that De Bruyne will snaffle his share of the assists and goals that City were already due to be divided amongst Silva, Aguero, Raheem Sterling and Yaya Toure.
With this in mind, De Bruyne’s expected share will likely make a dent in the returns offered by that quartet.
Will it be enough to force us to reconsider their acquisition? Not just yet, but there’s little doubt that we’ll need to monitor the impact on Silva in particular.
While Aguero’s goals look assured – perhaps boosted further, De Bruyne’s ability to supply could easily diminish Silva’s output, reducing him to the “Luka Modric role” of opening up or distracting the defence for an alternative assister to provide the killer pass.
For me, De Bruyne’s brilliance is a welcome addition to the Premier League but at a lofty 10.0, he’s an unwanted variable introduced into the dependable City machine that was purring so efficiently.
Jonty says…
The drafting in of the midfielder from Wolfsburg can only lead to success for Manchester City. Last season he racked up ten goals and was the top assist-maker across the top five European Leagues. Given Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Yaya Toure will be among those either getting on the end of his passes to score, or teeing him up, he has plenty of potential to increase their Fantasy points.
The question remains as to how we get the best out of Manchester City’s assets, given his move to the club? One option is to go all out on attack and invest in De Bruyne along side two of Aguero, Toure, Silva or Sterling. That is costly, though, and there is still value in Aleksandar Kolarov and Vincent Kompany to collect clean sheets and the odd goal.
Another option is to make De Bruyne the go-to man for midfield, slotting into our Fantasy sides alongside Aguero and a Manchester City defender.
The final option is to sit tight and watch him help your existing Manchester City options score goals. That would be my current option, although I will be keeping a close eye as to who takes on the dreaded role of assister to the assister, where there are no Fantasy returns. If Silva takes that role and De Bruyne becomes assister-in-chief then it will be time to switch out the Spaniard for the Belgian.
Andy85wsm says…
If he can get anywhere near the ten goals and 20 assists he racked up last season then De Bruyne will be a great option at £10m in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game. Whether he changes my thinking on the Manchester City attack I’m not so sure. Their offence is looking great this season and I have no doubts that De Bruyne will help keep the goals coming. Considering most of us will already have three Manchester City players in place, however, I don’t think there’s a need to go making wholesale changes or using free transfers to bring him in, and in that respect, my thinking hasn’t really changed.
One thing to consider is the spread of points in the team. Prior to this season, you’d expect most of the goals and assists to come through Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure. This term it feels like we’re getting into more of an Arsenal situation where the goals could come from just about anywhere – Aguero, De Bruyne, Silva, Toure, and Raheem Sterling. We might have to double or triple up on attack to be sure we’re in the points and that gets rather pricey.
At a similar price to Silva, who is currently £10.2m, I think the dullard in me will surface and I’ll stick to what I know. Looking at the Sky Sports Fantasy Football game and it’s a different story. With the aim to save as many transfers as possible for later in the season, I’ve not yet drafted a Manchester City midfielder into my team, but with the amount of goals they’re scoring and the upcoming fixtures I’m itching to bring someone in. De Bruyne is only priced at £7.8m in the Sky game, compared to Silva at £8.9m, Toure at £8.6m and Sterling at £8.5m. With money tight I think it might be worth the risk of bringing De Bruyne straight in while others will be looking at the standard City midfielders. Perhaps this is the chance to start getting ahead in the Sky game?
Ryan says…
I think its clear what Manchester City’s front four will be De Bruyne – who will replace Navas – joining Silva and Sterling as the attacking trio behind Aguero. For Silva owners there will be a degree of consternation – will he be forced onto the wing to make way for De Bruyne in “the hole”? We know Silva is less effective out wide and such a scenario will lesson his appeal as a Fantasy asset. So how will they all line up?
What I think will happen is all three midfielders will be fairly fluid, alternating positions and taking turns out wide and in central areas. There is danger that they could take points away from one another as only so many goals and assists can go round. We will be faced with a scenario very similar to the one that already exists at Arsenal. What Manchester City need to do to maintain our interest, is continue to score loads of goals so these midfielders can come away with regular returns.
Being the spearhead of the attack, most of us will continue to back Aguero. Doubling up is now a difficult task, though; the midfield will share points and it mightn’t be so easy to pick out the best asset. Will you play the City midfield lottery? Or is it time to look elsewhere?
Applebonkers says…
De Bruyne is a wonderful cohesive player. I see it as he’ll aid every single player around him, yet by being far more productive than Navas he’ll also harm slightly by stealing the odd bap and set-piece off them. The net effect? Probably about even. I view it as a positive if there’s another buyable asset in town. Like with the new Chips, it means more differentiation, which can only be refreshing.
In terms of position, it seems ominous that he takes Navas’ spot. It needn’t mean being stuck on the right though – a huge strength Man City have now with Sterling, de Bruyne, Silva and Nasri is versatility. The second half change against Watford could be a sign of things to come. If he plays his cards right he could be as good as Kolarov.
