SykikJV

Yes, he was. He was the playmaker in midfield. During the time he was bein treated of the pitch, Anderlecht scored the 0-1. A blow we never really recovered from. His partner in midfield Hyland (ex-Portsmouth) was suspended so we had to switch too many players to be as good as the last few games.

No, it's an expression of hurt. They had to pull his toe back in to position. After breaking it, his toe was standing in the wrong direction. After De Bruyne left the field after 8-9 minutes we were nowhere. Lost 0-4 to Anderlecht, first loss in 4-5 games. De Bruyne will be fit end may or begin june, so no whorries for his pre-season.

Hope so, De Bruyne himself says he'll wait for pre-season to decide what's best for him and Chelsea.

Youtube link to De Bruyne trick on sunday's game against Standard :

That is correct. That is the position he is excelling in at the moment. His stamina is good enough for that position. Don't know if he's good enough defensively to play that position in the Premier League, especially against the more physical teams. Although you could compare his body with Modric', Modric has much more experience. You can view some media about his performance on saturday at : http://www.sporza.be/permalink/1.1275629 You probably won't understand much they are saying , but after 2:40 minutes you can see some of his good moments. Love the little touch at 3:02. Don't be mistaken by how high he is on the pitch sometimes, they are just showing his most attacking moments. At the end you can see him losing the ball two times, resulting in conceding one goal. Defense didn't look that good either though.

In Genk De Bruyne has never played on the right side of the midfield. Most of his games he played in a rather free role on the left side of midfield. That position gives him the possibilty to cut inside with his right foot. Last 6 games he's playing in central midfield. In the youth-system he played as a number 10 with just one striker in front of him.

I wouldn't compare De Bruyne's current position with Mata's current position. Mata is playing higher up the pitch then De Bruyne does. De Bruyne isn't playing as a number 10 at the moment, more like a number 8. We are playing with only two players in central midfield, with De Bruyne ofcourse as the most attacking of the two. But his positioning is very smart, when there's no space he often drops deep to come and collect the ball, play it to the winger/striker and then move forward really quick to receive the ball again. This makes it very hard to mark him. If he can be injury-free for the rest of the season and next season's pre-season, i can see him playing his part at Chelsea. But he really has to play next season. He isn't 18 like Lukaku is. De Bruyne has to play to keep getting better.

You can view a recap of his last game at : http://stadion.vtm.be/artikel/anderlecht-krc-genk-14042012

Played at Anderlecht, number one in the league. De Bruyne again played in central midfield. Best man on the pitch, spraying passes around the pitch and assisting the first goal. De Bruyne was subbed in the 91st minute and received a standing ovation from both the visiting Genk fans ând the home crowd, first time i saw that in Anderlecht. We are really going to miss him next year, no chance that his replacement will be even near as good as De Bruyne.

Maybe that's best for him to adapt to a stronger league, but Chelsea will have to make a smart choice in the team they send him to. He has to play, like Courtois did. He does have the advantage that he can play on the left, in central midfield or behind the striker.

He really has stepped up in the most important game of our season, a few weeks back against Gent. We had to win against the team 3rd in ranking and as a central midfielder he really stepped up with two assists and one goal. You kind view a recap of that game at : http://stadion.vtm.be/artikel/racing-genk-%E2%80%93-aa-gent-21032012?teams=91538 You are right that he has stepped up in the 2nd half of the season. Last year he suffered from infectious mononucleosis and it has taken him a long time to get the disease really out of his system and to get back to his best physical condition. But now he has and he really is playing at a high level. If i have to compare his play in that central midfield position, i would say like Modric. He is able to play like a deep-lying playmaker, but still be decisive on the other end of the pitch. He is really smart in his positioning and passing. Although he will need to step up his physical game in England, he's got less flaws then Lukaku did last year when he left for Chelsea. In Belgium some people had doubts about Lukaku's technical side of his game. The flaws that De Bruyne has (strength and heading) will be easier to improve and less important.

Don't know if some of you still follow De Bruyne? The last few games he has been awesome. At the moment he is by far the best player in the Belgian league. Although his natural position in the youth-team was the number 10 behind the lone striker, in the first team he has always played on the left side. Being two-footed (right is his natural "best foot") he can cut inside to his right foot or go outside to cross with his left foot. Due to injuries in our central midfield, the last 5 he has played in the central midfield position, not the number 10 behind the striker, but as a central midfielder in a 4-4-2. It is in that position that he is showing everybody just how good he really is. He has been the heart and the engine of the team, not only in attack, but also in defence and tactically. He drops low to get the ball and keep the game flowing with his passing, but also infiltrates and is decisive on the other side of the pitch. He's really keen to prove that his best position is in the centre of the pitch (number 8 or 10) and that he is good enough to be transfered to Chelsea. So he is really taking his responsibility in that position : he is the first to put pressure on the other team, really running his heart out, fighting for every ball. But it is in possession when he is really shining. His vision, passing and crossing is stunning. Always playing the ball forward, mixing the long and short passes. He is really racking up the assists in this position. When he has played, he has been directly involved in 70 or 80% of our goals (pre-assist, assist or scoring himself). The last few games he really has been a midfield general for us. As character he is very self-critical and -demanding. He always wants to win, even in training or other things, he hates losing. Due to this characteristics, he hasn't been the easiest youth-player to coach in Genk of his former-team (Gent), but it's going to help him a lot in the Premier League. Maybe a loan would suit him better next year, but if you loan him out to another PL-team, choose a team that plays football. Don't loan him out to a team like Stoke, but to Swansea, Fulham or Sunderland. But when he keeps playing like he does at the moment, maybe he can stay at Chelsea, your midfield really could use someone like De Bruyne at his best. Anyway, give him a chance and you'll really enjoy his football.