Kevin de Bruyne arrived at Chelsea on January 31st 2012, affectionately known as deadline day. Despite being at the West London club for the best part of two years now, he's made just a few appearances after being cast out on loan by managers before Mourinho came back to Chelsea in the Summer. Many fans hoped that de Bruyne would finally get a chance with the first team, me included, but this was not to be.
Signed for £7million from Genk in Belgium, de Bruyne was tipped to be one of the top players as he made a massive impact on the Belgian side as a bustling teenager. Many clubs around Europe had begun to take notice of his form, most notably Chelsea, and rightly so. André Villas-Boas had made his mind up and Abramovich obliged by signing him, and was shipped back to Genk for the remainder of the season, the young Belgian had racked up over thirty-six assists and seventeen goals for Genk in just three years. An impressive tally for any player, but for a teenager at one of Belgium's top sides, even more so. Especially when he starred in their title winning 2010-11 season, people began to sit up and take notice. Despite a lack of experience at the very highest level, de Bruyne continued to show a high level of maturity and a level head on young shoulders, not afraid to put in a tackle and equally adept at getting round one in the same vein, he began to raise even more eyebrows. Even though de Bruyne had a very impressive pre-season as Chelsea toured America ahead of the 2012-13 season, he was, as expected, sent on loan again, this time to Werder Bremen.
Werder Bremen had finished in ninth the season before de Bruyne joined the Northerners, but they'd lost talisman Claudio Pizarro to Bayern Munich and looked limp all over the pitch after a disappointing Summer. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, Kevin de Bruyne set about a one man mission to rescue Bremen during the campaign. He finished the season with ten goals and eleven assists, a monumental effort, one which earned him many plaudits and fans. The fine performances were the highlight of an otherwise dull season for Bremen, which culminated in the Belgian picking up the young player of the year award, beating the likes of Julian Draxler, Mario Götze and more of the fabled young blood in the Bundesliga. It really was a coming of age for de Bruyne as he seamlessly adapted into a new team and most importantly, made a massive difference to how they played. As seen now, Bremen are definitely struggling without him, after a terribly disappointing Hinrunde.
So now we arrive at the present day and de Bruyne is not getting the game time he needs to progress. The best way to describe the Belgian's tenure at Chelsea was during a pre-season game, after opening the scoring with an utterly amazing volley, de Bruyne fell awkwardly and missed the rest of pre-season. Despite the injury, he returned in time for Chelsea's opening game of the season against Hull City, picking up an assist in his first competitive game for the Blues. Yet, de Bruyne has only appeared a handful more times and has been frustrated at his lack of action. De Bruyne has seemingly always made it clear that a return to the Bundesliga would be most preferable, with Bayern Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg have sealed a deal for the up and coming star. He joins fellow countryman Junior Malanda at the Wolves and looks set to become a vital part of Klaus Allofs plans at VfL. He is a perfect partner for Luiz Gustavo in their midfield, to play alongside the Brazilian as a deep-lying playmaker. His strength to play in this way is a massive plus, both offensively and defensively, he also possess a passing range to die for and a cultured right foot which comes in handy when it comes to set-piece delivery.
So, has Mourinho made a mistake? I certainly think so, a player of de Bruyne's ilk would have been the perfect partner in midfield for John Obi Mikel and they could have formed a very formidable duo in the future. Two players that would have complemented each other perfectly, and I feel Chelsea will have to spend big to replace Kevin de Bruyne. On the other hand, the Bundesliga and Wolfsburg have an absolute gem on their hands, a player that could grow into one of the best midfielders in the world. Allofs is building towards what could be a return to their title winning form of 2009, and it's quite the coup they managed to pip Leverkusen and Dortmund to his signature. The fact that Mourinho has let one of the biggest talents in Belgian football during their golden generation for what looks to be under £20 million is utter madness to not only me, but has most other Chelsea fans scratching their heads.