Was Jose Mourinho wrong to sell Kevin De Bruyne?

Belgium international midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been in fine form this season and is being linked with a big money return to the Premier League

Wolfsburg and Belgium attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been in fine form this season and has helped his club side to second-place in the Bundesliga.

The 23-year-old joined the Wolves from Chelsea in January 2014 for a fee in the region of £18million.

Hit

The youngster has been a major hit in Germany with Wolfsburg. In his first half season with the German club he scored three goals and collected six assists in the German top-flight.

This season has been even more successful for De Bruyne, as he has scored 14 times in all competitions and has 21 assists.

He has been simply outstanding for the Wolves and his performances have attracted reported interest from the likes of Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

Wonderkid

When De Bruyne joined Chelsea in 2012 he was regarded as a wonderkid and a player that could have a bright future with the Blues. However, his first team opportunities were restricted at Stamford Bridge and he made just three Premier League appearances for the Blues.

Like a lot of youngsters at big Premier League clubs he was not given the chance to impress significantly enough to make an impact on the team. The competition for places in his position was also tough.

Talented

Kevin De Bruyne has never lacked talent, but questions were asked about whether he was good enough to become a regular first team player at Stamford Bridge. Unfortunately it seems that Blues boss Jose Mourinho did not believe the Belgian international was good enough to be a success at Chelsea in the long-term.

De Bruyne seems to have every attribute to be a great player at both club and international level. He has good pace, terrific vision and has an eye for a goal, all good qualities in a top-class attacking midfielder.

Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard has recently revealed that he believes that his international teammate is good enough to play for the Blues. Hazard told L’Equipe: ‘He is a great player. Mourinho decided to let him go and not play him.

‘It was not my decision, even though I know very well that he could play at Chelsea because he has tremendous qualities.

‘I think at Chelsea, you have more pressure than Wolfsburg. It’s a shame he’s gone but he’ll have a successful career.’

His former club mate obviously believes in the midfielder’s ability, even if Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho does not.

Option

Chelsea does have a lot of talented attacking midfielders, but surely De Bruyne in his current form would get into the Chelsea team. Is he less talented than January signing Juan Cuadrado, Willian or even Ramires?

In my opinion Kevin De Bruyne is equally, or even more talented than the aforementioned trio. He may not have the same work-rate, but would definitely not be out of his league when compared to some of the midfielders that Mourinho now has available to him.

Move

De Bruyne’s form this season has raised the midfielder’s profile and led to major interest from the likes of German giants Bayern Munich and reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.

In fact the youngster has been linked with a £40million summer move to City by a host of British tabloids in the past week.

The 23-year-old is suddenly hot property again and the irony is that if De Bruyne had not already played for Chelsea he would probably be a perfect transfer target for the Blues this summer. De Bruyne is young, talented and in-form.

Mistake

Kevin De Bruyne may have struggled to gain first team football at Chelsea, but Jose Mourinho may just have made a big mistake by letting the midfielder leave the club.

The Portuguese boss is usually pretty shrewd in the transfer market and knows what he wants in a player. He would loathe admitting it, but I bet he is now thinking that De Bruyne may just have had a bright future at Stamford Bridge after all.

Did Jose Mourinho make a mistake in selling De Bruyne?