Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Former Man Utd midfielder on why Chelsea failed to get most out of Kevin De Bruyne
KEVIN DE BRUYNE failed at Chelsea because he was played in the wrong position, claims former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves.
Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne could make his Man City debut at Crystal Palace this weekend
De Bruyne, 24, is set to make his Manchester City debut this weekend after completing a £54million switch from Wolfsburg last month.
The Belgium international enjoyed a successful stint in Germany, having being shipped out by Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
And Hargreaves, who played for both Manchester United and City as well as Bayern Munich, says De Bruyne will prove his worth to his new club.
"Kevin is proven when he plays his position, in Belgium he was terrific, he went to Chelsea and it didn’t work out, but he was played out wide," BT Sport pundit Hargreaves told the Daily Mail.
"He went on loan to Bremen, terrific. Then went to Wolfsburg, terrific. He’s proven if you play him in the right place he’ll do a job for you.
"At Chelsea he didn’t do what he normally does, he played out wide. And he’ll probably play out wide for City now."
De Bruyne cost Chelsea £6.7m when he arrived from Genk back in 2012 but was sold to Wolfsburg for £18m two years later.
He made just two Premier League starts for the Blues but impressed during a loan spell at Werder Bremen in the 2012/13 season.
The 24-year-old arrives at City as their new record signing but Hargreaves insists he won't be the focal point of the team.
"(It) won’t be built around him at City," Hargreaves added. "It’s built around Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero. It’ll be interesting how he fits in."