The Kevin De Bruyne injury is one that will shake up the Premier League for sure. Kevin De Bruyne is widely known as one of, if not the best midfielder in the world. In his 2017/2018 campaign with Manchester City, he notched 12 goals and 25 assists. It put him only 2nd to Mohamed Salah in the Premier League Player of the Year race. However, after playing one Premier League game, De Bruyne went down with a lateral collateral ligament lesion in training. Due to this, he is expected to miss around three months. De Bruyne will missing games in all competitions. But with a €209,750,000 midfield, which Manchester City players can step it up in his play-making role?
In 4 games since De Bruyne’s injury, Manchester City notched 3 wins and 1 draw. The Champions League on the way. The team also has a tough set of teams in Premier League play. Here we look to see who can step in up until the winter.
Riyad Mahrez
Mahrez came over from Leicester City for €60 million and has proved to be a clinical scorer and playmaker. He can definitely step up in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. Prior to Manchester City, Mahrez was both a Premier League Champion and Player of the Year with 18 goals and 11 assists. Considering he’s coming off the bench right now, the former Premier League player of the year should have no problem getting back to form due to the Kevin De Bruyne injury.
Ilkay Gündoğan
The German midfielder has made it very clear that he’s in better shape a following Germany’s short World Cup stint. He only scored 7 goals in the Premier League last season. His experience with world class players such as Mesut Özil, and Kevin De Bruyne in the midfield has prepared him to take on any challenge for the defending Premier League Champs. With a €24.30 million transfer fee, Gündoğan has earned the trust of Pep Guardiola to perform in big moments and games such as the Champions League.
Bernardo Silva
The Portuguese midfielder notched 10 goals and 10 assists in all competitions for the Citizens in his 2017/2018 campaign. Silva spent the better half of last season coming off the bench just inches away from being a first team starter. As one of the players that had to work for his spot in the lineup, the Kevin De Bruyne injury can only prove more and more the things Silva is capable of even with Pep Guardiola coming out a describing his recent performance as Bernardo “and 10 others”.
Benjamin Mendy (Wild Card)
A left back is a crazy option to consider a “replacement” for Kevin De Bruyne. However, Mendy has been performing in the play-making field. Unfortunately, he was sidelined most of the 2017/2018 season with injury. But Mendy has come into this season picking up right where he left off. This season, Mendy has played both premier league games had created 5 chances and notched 3 assists. With Mendy’s impeccable work rate, he is ready to fill the play-making shoes the Kevin De Bruyne injury as a left behind. In addition he is ready to give strong defensive efforts as well.
Manchester City is the most expensive team in club football. With it comes much depth and this is no different. Losing arguably the best player on your squad is never a good thing. When you have many other talented players around him, you forget that he is even gone. Manchester City should prove not to be phased by the Kevin De Bruyne injury and should flourish in all competitions once again.
Have a different opinion on who is next up in Kevin De Bruyne’s absence? Have a suggestion on a possible transfer target for the team? Let me know. Twitter handle is below.