Kevin De Bruyne Feels Small Transfer Fee Kept Him Off The Field
Chelsea FC have developed a habit of buying young Belgian players at a cut price, not playing them very much or at all, loaning them out, and eventually selling them off for big-time fees. First it was Kevin De Bruyne sold to Wolfsburg, Romelu Lukaku to Everton, and most recently Thorgan Hazard to Borussia Monchengladbach. All three players saw little to no action for Chelsea but only one felt that it was his small initial fee that kept him off the field at Stamford Bridge.
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Kevin De Bruyne was bought from Racing Genk in January of 2012 but was sent back immediately on loan to the Belgian club. He spent the 2012-13 preseason on tour with the Blues but was eventually sent to German club Werder Bremen on loand for the ’12-’13 season. De Bruyne impressed in Germany with 10 goals 11 assists in 34 appearances and appeared ready to take on a major role in the Chelsea midfield once he rejoined the Blues.
The Belgian winger began the 2013-14 season as a starter and featured in Chelsea’s opening day victory against Hull City. He even notched an assist that day but failed to lock down a starting position. A poor performance against Swindon Town in the League Cup appeared to be the final nail in his Chelsea career and he famously did not even make the trip with the Blues in a Champions League away date. Just 5 months after making his competitive Chelsea debut, De Bruyne was shipped off to Wolfsburg for £18 million, nearly three times what Chelsea had paid for him from Racing Genk.
Aug 4, 2013; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (15) controls a ball against AC Milan during the first half at Metlife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
It was that initial fee of £6.7m that De Bruyne felt held him back from becoming a Chelsea regular. De Bruyne told Sport-BILD weekly that “maybe things would have been different if Chelsea had to pay €45m (£32m) and not €8m (£6.7m) when I arrived from Racing Genk. A higher transfer fee would have potentially handed me a different sort of status inside the club. And possibly, handed me more chances (to play more regularly).”
He went on to say that he did not understand why he was not playing and that “Chelsea FC has not been the best choice at that point in time” because in his words, “being with Chelsea is like being in a different world.” De Bruyne says that he feels “very much at home with VfL Wolfsburg in this very moment” but wants to “play for a big European club – one I can win trophies with.”
Well much like Romelu Lukaku and his dreams of playing for a big club, Kevin De Bruyne had that chance. Both players were playing for a big club that wins trophies regularly but chose the easy way out rather than work hard for their place in the team. Had Lukaku stayed, the Blues would not have gone out and brought in either Didier Drogba or Loic Remy and he would have had plenty of chances to play for Chelsea.
In De Bruyne’s case, he could have stayed around and filled Chelsea’s need for a creative right winger when Willian or Andre Schurrle were clearly not up to snuff in the role. Both players showed that they were unwilling to fight for their place and prove to Jose Mourinho that they belonged at Chelsea.
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As for Kevin De Bruyne’s claims that it was his fee that held him back, he needs to look no further than Cesar Azpilicueta or Gary Cahill to see that it is a meritocracy in Jose Mourinho’s world. Both players were bought for under £10m and both beat out much more expensive competition for their place in the team. Cahill of course beating out David Luiz and Azpilicueta kept both Ryan Bertrand and Ashley Cole on the bench.
Managers may feel more pressure to give chances to players who they paid more for but Mourinho has shown that he will play the best player available no matter what. Had De Bruyne stayed and worked hard enough, he would have been given the chance to impress and gotten his wish to play for a big club. He may still get that wish as he is reportedly being eyed by some of the big clubs in Europe but he had his dream in his hands and let it go because it was the easier thing to do.