Bundesliga has found its new star this season. No surprise, its Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian has been the shining light for Wolfsburg this season. Bayern Munich might secure their third consecutive title in April itself, but undoubtedly the find of the season in German top flight is a player who was considered unnecessary for The Special Onea s plans at Chelsea. Jose Mourinho considered the playmaker excess to his plans and fast forward one year, he is running hot favorite for Player of The Tournament in Germany. Such has been the 23-year olda s influence at the Volkswagen Arena. The former Werder Bremen man is already sitting top of the assists chart with 16 assists, seven more than Thomas Muller and Zlatko Junuzovic both who have nine each. And nine goals for an attacking midfielder is a great outcome since his job is creating chances for the lone striker Dieter Hecking usually employs.
After impressing with Belgian club Genk in 2010-11 season, De Bruyne had a chance to showcase his talents in the Champions League when the Belgian Champions qualified for the group stages. Their journey ended in the group stages when they were put in group full of heavyweights like Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea and Valencia. They even drew against Leverkusen and Chelsea on their home turf, during which Chelsea showed their interest in young De Bruyne. Apparently, he gained a transfer to the North London club on the transfer deadline day in January 2012. He returned on loan back to Genk for the rest of the season and made his debut for Chelsea in a pre-season friendly against MLS side Seattle Sounders in July 2012. Later he was loaned out to SV Werder Bremen on a season long loan, a common scene at Chelsea who loan out their young stars whom they consider amateur for the first team action. But as it turned out, he stepped up with solid performances for Bremen appearing 34 times in a process which he scored 10 goals and assisted 10. He returned back to Chelsea for the 2013-14 season where he spent most of his time warming up the bench under Jose Mourinho. By January it became clear that Mourinho considered the attacker surplus to his plans. Wolfsburg were quick to react and brokered a 14 million pound deal with the Stamford Bridge club. After landing in Wolfsburg, he never had to look back. He scored 3 goals and gave 6 assists in 18 matches as Wolfsburg missed out on finishing fourth just by a whisker.
But Wolfsburg knew they struck gold with the Belgian international when the next season started. They started the 2014-15 season with a narrow defeat to Bayern Munich but slowly climbed upto second in the table by Matchday 10 and maintained the place ever since. The 23-year old has been instrumental in all those matches as he either scored or created one for his team mates in all the games. And post winter break, his form touched new heights and the game against Bayern Munich at the Volkswagen Arena proved that. He gave Bayerna s defence a torrid time with his dribbles, searing runs into the box, pin-point crosses as his team ran riot with a 4-1 win against the champions. He scored two goals and assisted fellow attacker Bas Dost for the opening goal. His link up play with teammates especially with Dost has been a joy to watch since then. Both of them formed a lethal partnership upfront which resulted in 22 goals and that too in the second half of the season. The Belgian has got the ground running in Europa League scoring 5 goals and setting up five other for his teammates as Wolfsburg has now entered the quarterfinals of the competition. De Bruyne has also had a hand in the Wolfsa progression to quarterfinals in the German Cup with two assists.
The attacking midfieldera s main strengths lie in his direct approach to the game. He has the pace and acceleration which can punish any defender who is slow to react. He has a dribbling capability which is very good and the crossing ability is his main strength which is the reason why he has so many assists to his name. He has also been the chief creator for Wolfsburg this season with 165 created chances from 26 matches in Bundesliga. With the kind of form he is in, its very difficult to point out a flaw in his game. He has all the attributes an attacking forward should possess. He can play as the second striker in a strike pair, he play out on the wide or in the hole position behind the striker. And due credit should be given to his team mates and the head coach Dieter Hecking in bringing out the best in the young Belgian. The high octane counter attacking football Dieter Hecking has brought into the Wolfsburg game has impressed many and De Bruyne has been the centre of all of it. After Ivica Olic left in the winter transfer window, Hecking put his trust in Bas Dost which clearly paid off. The Dutchman and De Bruyne have been complimenting each other well which has resulted in lot of goals between the pair. With the added fire power of Andre Schurrle, Hecking has brought balance and depth to the attack to support De Bruyne in the attack.
Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller have been instrumental in what looks like Bayern Municha s third consecutive title, but both of them didna t have the performances which can solely influence the game like Kevin De Bruyne which can earn him Player of The Tournament award this season. His performances have been so impressive that his Belgium national team mate Eden Hazard said that Mourinho was wrong to sell De Bruyne to Wolfsburg, drawing his managera s ire. His outstanding displays at Volkswagen Arena have drawn interest from top clubs like Manchester United and Manchester City. There have been some rumours about a return to Stamford Bridge with his agent Patrick De Koster also confirming interest from different top clubs. But Wolfsburga s Sporting Director Klaus Allofs is confident that the midfielder will stay at the club beyond 2015. a His agent might have been approached, and that would only be normal. But it has no meaning, because both Kevin and his agent have said that VfL is the right club for hima said Allofs regarding the rumours surrounding the playmaker. He might stay in Wolfsburg or make a move to a bigger club but with him in this fiery form, Wolfsburg have a long way to go on three fronts and trophy would be a deserved reward.
