Kevin De Bruyne’s injury: Can Man City thrive in absence of their midfield maestro?
Kevin De Bruyne injured
It might be okay to be without a crucial player for one or two games, but months without an important player will always be a concern. For a side like Manchester City, missing a crucial player like Kevin De Bruyne (KDB) would be devastating because he is the team’s primary playmaker.
It becomes even more worrisome for City given the fact that İlkay Gündoğan and Riyad Mahrez are no longer on the team.
Without KDB, the City might find it difficult to sustain its offensive threat and creativity. Manchester City has a superb group of players, including Phil Foden, but can he do it well as the Belgian international?
De Bruyne was forced off against Burnley midway through the first half of the Premier League season opener due to what appeared to be an aggravation of a reoccurring hamstring issue and Pep have confirmed that midfield maestro will be out for months after his surgery.
Speaking with CrispNG, Chinedu a football fan agreed that City will feel his absence. He remarked ” I think that’s why they want to sign Paqueta so they don’t feel the impact alot. No body (in City’s current team) can create like Kevin De Bruyne. Foden is not a creator. He is more a ball carrier so Pep might be forced to adapt his tactics if he doesn’t sign Paqueta.”He concluded by saying “yes, it will affect City’s season maybe significantly”
The absence of KDB will undoubtedly have an impact on Manchester City’s performance. KDB is renowned for his creativity, vision, and precise passing, which contributes significantly to City’s attacking prowess.
Without him, the squad might find it difficult to generate much scoring opportunities and keep up their normal attacking fluidity, as he registered a whooping 28 assists to his name in 2022/2023 football season — which was City’s most successful season in history.
While De Bruyne’s injury is clearly a setback for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, their ability to defend their title will primarily rest on how quickly they are able to adjust to his absence and how well Phil Foden, new signing Mateo Kovacic and others can step up to fill the vacuum.
It will also be intriguing to see how many goals Erling Haaland can score prior to the return of his main assist provider. But since Pep Guardiola is such a genius, and because Manchester City have a strong squad — although some would argue that it is not as strong as last season’s treble winning side — they will probably have backup plans in place to deal with De Bruyne’s absence.
Can City soar in KDB’s absence? Time will tell.
By Ezeh Chimezie Amos
