Heading into the 24/24 season, Manchester City looks to be well-placed to chase a fifth consecutive Premier League title and challenge on all fronts. The only major area of need in the City squad is a midfielder to support Rodri. It remains to be seen if City will land a player to fulfil that role. But as he gets older could Kevin De Bruyne potentially drop into a deeper midfield role this season? It’s an interesting topic to consider ahead of City’s first Premier League game of the season against Chelsea this Sunday.
First of all, there is no doubt that Kevin De Bruyne remains Manchester City’s best creative outlet in midfield. His statistics from last season emphasize this fact. Despite having an injury-interrupted 23/24 season, De Bruyne contributed 6 goals and 18 assists in 26 appearances. When fully fit, he showed that he is still one the most damaging midfielders in the Premier League and world football. That remains the case ahead of the 24/25 season. But could he drop deeper into City’s midfield this season? It’s not a far-fetched idea, given the strengths of De Bruyne’s game.
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At his best Kevin De Bruyne tends to drift all over Manchester City’s midfield. With his footballing intelligence, he always pops up in the most dangerous areas of the pitch. It has been a major strength of De Bruyne’s game on top of his overall brilliance. That trait of the Manchester City legend does look like it could lend itself to a deeper midfield role.
It likely wouldn’t be a role he’d be expected to play every week De Bruyne has the potential to partner Rodri in the centre of City’s midfield. That possibility could then allow Pep Guardiola to play a more attacking lineup ahead of De Bruyne and Rodri, for argument’s sake, while having De Bruyne in the middle of the pitch to pick out passes. It wouldn’t work against every team Manchester City faces, but it could help City break down the low blocks they tend to face during the majority of the games they play each season.
Of course, there is a factor to consider that may not make this midfield move for Kevin De Bruyne possible. The Manchester City legend is beginning to get on in age. At the beginning of this se,ason De Bruyne is now 33 years of age. This isn’t a knock on the Belgian international but Father Time remains undefeated. At 33 and off the back of major hamstring surgery last season De Bruyne’s legs may not be what they previously were. Age may prevent De Bruyne from being able to consistently play a deeper midfield role.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Kevin De Bruyne take up a deeper role on occasions in Manchester City’s midfield this season. He has the talent, intelligence and knowledge to successfully play the role. It just may be a move that circumstances dictate throughout the 24/25 season.
A deeper midfield role would actually be better for Kevin in terms of the amount of ground that he normally covers in a game. He is still the best ball carrier linking the midfield to the forward line and his range of passing makes him ideal for playing the long / cross field balls to get Erling running. I believe that a defensive midfield of Kevin and Rodri would be an excellent combination; both can win the ball and both know how, where and when to release the ball. We also have Phil Foden who I would play just behind Erling so the link between Kevin / Rodri to Phil to Erling could be devastating and now with two/three very promising wingers our attack could become a devasting machine. We might lose out in defense sometimes but goals win games and if you score more than the opposition you win !!