I'd have to say that with a young player like him, you want to see the right mentality. You want to see him say, I want the ball, I'll take the freekick. I want to influence the match, especially at a club where he is regarded as the best player.

I didn't see that. He was just willing to play his part without going the extra distance. We have too many players like that already. Now you can say he is still young, he'll grow into that. Well we have Kakuta, Piazon and Lalkovic and others who can do that as well for free.

I'd prefer to save the 10m and put it towards someone of genuine quality.

He may look impressive in the Belgian League but I feel we have better promising players in our youth/reserve teams already.

I agree. If he can't turn the magic on against us (with Bosingwa protecting his flank) then he wont be able to do it in the Prem. I'd rather save it for someone like Hazard who's the finished article at 20 and has already dismantled Prem teams (Liverpool last season I believe) single-handedly.

I still think he's talented, but our squad doesn't need a slow release capsule, we need a shot of adrenaline.

I agree. If he can't turn the magic on against us (with Bosingwa protecting his flank) then he wont be able to do it in the Prem. I'd rather save it for someone like Hazard who's the finished article at 20 and has already dismantled Prem teams (Liverpool last season I believe) single-handedly.

I still think he's talented, but our squad doesn't need a slow release capsule, we need a shot of adrenaline.

Definitely agree with that last part.

If in January we get what Luiz did for us last season but from a winger, I'd be delighted and we will very much challenge come the end of the season. With that said, though... a slow release capsule along with the shot of adrenaline would surely not go amiss? Although I don't think De Bruyne is quite the slow release we need.

De Bruyne may not be in the level of Hazard but still his crossing is superb. We need players who can provide width and do the crossing and I believe Kevin fits the bill for 8 Million .

I think he's the kind of player who'd become better when playing and training every day with better players. He provided a couple of great balls behind our defense and was involved in the build to their equalizer. Although I admit he didnt set the stage on fire as many of may have expected, I'd not be too disappointed if we took him for a reasonable fee and maybe loaned him to a prem club for a season or so.

Definitely agree with that last part.

If in January we get what Luiz did for us last season but from a winger, I'd be delighted and we will very much challenge come the end of the season. With that said, though... a slow release capsule along with the shot of adrenaline would surely not go amiss? Although I don't think De Bruyne is quite the slow release we need.

Agree with Eggy on the bold part. Both would be fantastic.

Can't say I saw anything that got me excited

Well he's no Ronaldo, Messi or Robben. Let's not misunderstand him. He's a cheaper option than spending 40m on someone like Neymar (is that his name? I've forgotten again) or Ribery. He's young, he does have potential and even though he's not on the same level as some of those players we'd like, he's still better than Kalou and Malouda.

It's difficult to make a fair and accurate assessment over two games.

During the home game especially, I thought De Bruyne looked far and away Gent's best player. You can very easily argue that this was because the quality of the players around him was so poor. Or you could say that he looked comparatively impressive despite the quality of the players around him.

What bothered me about him wasn't his natural talent. His weighted passes, crossing ability and dribbling were on display especially in the first leg. The talent is there. But we're talking about a 20 year old, who reportedly REALLY wants to join Chelsea, getting his chance against us in the CL. You'd think he'd have run his socks off to impress AVB and the rest of the team. Well he didn't do that. He put in a decent individual performance against a vastly superior side (well you'd think so on paper!).

I guess this is the problem with fishing for gems like Ferguson does. You never really know what you have until you've bought it, as opposed to the superstars who break the bank. Its just impossible to determine how good he'd be alongside our players or in a much more difficult league. I am sure that he isn't an immediate solution to anything at the moment though. If we want Robben Mk.2 coming in and lighting up the league at age 20, we should spend the money on Hazard.

Not saying he's useless, but he plays in a team that wouldnt get into the championship play-offs should they be a championship side (i know they're not) and i personally just dont see him fitting into our team, although to be fair i rate him over malouda ;)

He looks like a petulant little fellow

Yeah one of his most prominent moments was abusing the linesmen for not giving him a throw.

As for those 5 best cheapish wingers (under 15mish) from before

I'd list Valbuena, Mertens, Reus, Ayew, Marin, Giovinico, and Hernandez from Valencia as all being well ahead of de Bruyne and I'm not a fan at all of Marin for example.

Now you might suggest he'd be cheaper than those players but you'd prefer to pay 15 for Valbuena or Reus than 10-12 for De Bruyne any day, if only for the fact that last night they would have been demanding the ball and trying to influence the play rather than sitting back as De Bruyne did.

I would add David Hoilett to that list. Apparently he's out out of contract and can be had for around 10-15m in January. Just the type of player we're looking for I think.

Victor Moses was another, but I haven't been too impressed with him this season.

He looks like a petulant little fellow

He looked like Tintin. :-)

Don't think he's Chelsea material.

Hoilett isn't bad for players in England, and I like Albrighton as well, but I'm not sure they're at our level yet. As Castiel says I'd like someone to come in and make an immediate impact.

just would like to hear some others views as i dont really rate these guys to much.

first cahill watched him closely last few weeks and especially agaisnt villa his positional play was dire to say the least.i could be being harsh as he knows hes going somewere else but i would try harder then no.I just dont think he is a w/class centre back of which we need.i think it would be a step back from the four centre backs we have now to be honest i know hes going cheap but 8 mill aint cheap for a second rate centre back that is no better than what we have.

De bruyne WHY ive seen footage of this guy on you tube and watched him in the 2 games against us. you tube hes the next ronaldo.but in real life i dont see the point of this buy we need a left winger which he aint attacking midfield please we have mata piazon and davilla coming through plus josh next year.i know he is young but i just cant see anything in his game that will take him and us to the next level to be honest what other top six side would want him no other team in europe wants him so ,it leads me to think is he really the real deal. will he beat men with dribbling prowess no,has the incisive pass in the final third not that i saw, has he great battling qualities like my new hero romeau no so what does he do,he has a good shot from what i see.matty taylor of pompey fame rings a bell.

let me know what you think are these the buys that will get us to the top again.

Cahill not the greatest option in my opinion, however with so little time left on his contract he will be cheapish, he is british and I think he is only around 25 so not a bad option. De Bruyne is a player i really like the look of. I thought in Genks second game against us he played pretty well and remembering his age I think he could be a great player in the future. Not sure what type of price tag he would fetch but if it was reasonable then could be an exciting prospect

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/01/04/2830014/genks-kevin-de-bruyne-chelsea-are-still-very-interested-in

Genk midfielder Kevin De Bruyne says Chelsea are still very interested in signing him and are planning a future for him.

The Premier League club attempted to buy the 20-year-old in the summer but refused to meet the Belgian team's asking fee.

However, Chelsea, who played Genk in the Champions League group stage this season, remain keen to do a deal and the player has suggested he could be sent out on loan if he completes a move to Stamford Bridge.

"Chelsea are still interested in signing me and have a plan ready for me. It would be perfect if they'd sent me out on loan to another team first. Something like Thibaut Courtois at Atletico Madrid. He has made the right choice,” De Bruyne told Sporza.

De Bruyne admits he would find it hard to stay at the Belgian champions for another season, but admits his club’s valuation of him could scupper any possible deal.

"Staying at Genk for another season is not an option for me. Chelsea were very serious last summer, but you never know what team shows an interest this time," he continued.

“Maybe Genk's asking price is too high. They want to receive as much as they got for Courtois [€9 million, (£7.5m)]. That's a lot of money for a player from the Belgium league.”

The midfielder insists he is not worried about joining Chelsea merely to play in the reserves like fellow Belgian youngster Romelu Lukaku as he believes just training with a club like the Blues opens many doors for a player.

"Lukaku's situation at Chelsea doesn't scare me," he said. "He's training with some of the best players in the world. Even if he doesn't succeed at Chelsea, he'll have become a better player.

"You can join pretty much any team once you've played at Chelsea."

He's a Ginger, we dont want!

Just kidding,

he is still a kid though and didnt look anything special when we played them

I believe he is a good winger with a good shot and will only improve playing along established internationals.

How long are we going to buy only superstars ? We need the hernandezs , Van persies , Sturridges - Players who came cheap and improved training with good players.

I'd be very surprised if this guy doesn't end up here ..

Certainly looks likely. There has been a lot of smoke about this kid for a long time. If anyone has seen alot of him and made an educated judgement, please correct me.

No he wasnt great against us, but consider:

1. the quality of opposition. We play in the world's best league and have seasoned defenders. Plus we were in some form the first game and took Genk out of the game, mentally, within 20 minutes

2. He is still only 20 and will develop. Lukaku hasnt done a thing this year, but I dont think he is a write off by any means.

3. the highlight reels of him show the kid hasa bit of guile, a lot of pace, and a good ability with FKs.

4, Yeah, he looks to have an attitude, but in wingers that can sometimes be a great thing. Look at Ronaldo or Robben. Because of their arrogance they wind up pulling off the occasional mesmorizing move or solo run, at the expense of being selfish now and again.

Its a gamble and he could wind up amounting to nothing, but for the amount being talked about and the fact that he has been on our radar a while, I think its worth it. Can you imagine it paying off? And this kid terrorizing opposition fullbacks with Danny every week?

Edited January 5, 201214 yr by TheWestwayWonder

I'm not sure about the attitude thing? Where's that coming from? From what I've seen, I'm most impressed by his vision he seems to be good at picking out other players which I think would suit linking with Mata very well.

Well look at it this way:

Would you rather have De Bruyne playing on the wing, or Malouda/Kalou?