Chapter 215: The Transfer Saga of De Bruyne
In this round's highlight match, Moyes' Manchester United defeated second-place Arsenal 1-0 at home, allowing Manchester City to further extend their lead.
After 11 rounds, Manchester City's record is 10 wins and 1 draw, sitting at the top with 31 points.
Arsenal, with 8 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses, has 25 points and is in second place.
With Arsenal's unexpected loss, the gap between the two teams has widened to 6 points.
Given the current form and schedule of both teams, Manchester City is very likely to secure the halfway championship early.
In the history of the Premier League, more than 60% of halfway champions have gone on to win the title, even with Arsenal having skewed the probability downwards.
Therefore, the halfway championship still holds significant weight.
Among the Premier League's big teams, apart from Chelsea and Arsenal, the other teams all won.
Since being held to a draw by Manchester City at home, Chelsea's form has been particularly poor. In the last round, they were swept away 2-0 by Newcastle United.
In this round, they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by mid-table West Bromwich Albion.
It was clear to everyone that Mourinho's Chelsea had serious problems.
And these problems were quite severe!
This was an outcome no one had expected.
At the beginning of the season, when it was announced that Mourinho would return to Chelsea, the public had high hopes for his tenure with the Blues.
However, in just a few months, the voices of doubt about Mourinho and Chelsea have grown louder.
Chelsea, who invested the second most in the transfer market after Manchester City, certainly aimed for the league and Champions League titles this season.
However, after 11 rounds, Chelsea had only 5 wins, 4 draws, and 2 losses, with just 19 points, lower than Manchester United, who were not highly regarded at the start of the season.
This record is completely unworthy of Chelsea's investment and the public's expectations.
On the contrary, Manchester United's coach Moyes, after a rocky start, has seen a recent upturn in performance.
After achieving a three-game winning streak, Manchester United's points reached 20, temporarily placing them fifth in the standings, slightly ahead of their old rival, the Blues.
Mourinho's criticism of Moyes in the second round of the league now seemed like a boomerang, hitting him back.
Seeing their old rivals in trouble while their own team's form was improving, Manchester United fans started mocking Chelsea.
Who asked Mourinho to like verbally attacking Manchester United? Manchester United has many rivals in the league, such as city rivals Manchester City, league rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, and Chelsea, who all have deep grudges with United.
However, Manchester United fans only targeted Chelsea, which says a lot.
For Moyes, after consecutive home victories against arch-rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, he is gradually gaining recognition from the Red Devils fans.
Manchester United fans' demands are simple: as long as Moyes can lead the team to suppress their old rivals, it doesn't matter if they don't win the Premier League title in the end.
And now, Manchester United has defeated Arsenal and Liverpool. If they can also achieve revenge against Chelsea and Manchester City, it would be perfect! However, given Manchester City's current form, defeating them at home seems not so easy.
Of course, not everyone thinks so.
The journalist who previously criticized Manchester City for having Lin Quan dependency syndrome wrote again after this round's match.
"Manchester City's away match against Sunderland proved my previous assertion: Manchester City relies too much on Lin Quan!"
"By observing the operation of Manchester City's attacking system in this match, we can see that Lin Quan almost dominates all of Manchester City's frontcourt attacks.
I don't think this is a good thing. Football is a team sport, and relying too much on one player can lead to serious consequences.
In this match, Sunderland did a good job of limiting Lin Quan's breakthroughs and shots, not giving him many good chances.
If it weren't for the unlucky free kick at the end, Sunderland, a much weaker team, might have held mighty Manchester City to a draw.
I think this match should serve as a warning to Manchester City.
They must change their dependence on Lin Quan; otherwise, if he is restricted by opponents or his form fluctuates, Manchester City's attacking threat will be greatly reduced.
If Manchester City doesn't change quickly, their results will inevitably plummet."
This report garnered quite a bit of attention.
Although the match between Manchester City and Sunderland wasn't the highlight of the round, for many mid-table and lower-table teams, its importance far exceeded those strong clashes between giants.
The strategy Sunderland adopted in the match is one that other teams can mimic.
The Black Cats' squad isn't much stronger than other teams. Since they could make Manchester City struggle so much at home by parking the bus, other teams could too.
Lin Quan also saw this article, and while he disagreed with the latter part of the opinion, he agreed with the first part of the analysis.
Since David Silva's injury, Manchester City's frontcourt has lacked an organizer.
He is the only one in the team who can fulfill this role, so he has to take on multiple responsibilities, both as a playmaker and an attacking forward.
In positional play, he also has to organize the attack, distribute the ball, and even control the game's rhythm like a defensive midfielder.
Lin Quan himself doesn't want to be this core player.
He would prefer to be like at Werder Bremen, where De Bruyne was always passing the ball to him, allowing him to focus on shooting.
Thinking about this, Lin Quan suddenly wondered, what has De Bruyne been up to lately?
Looking at Chelsea's lineup for this round, he didn't see De Bruyne in the starting or substitute lists.
It seemed like De Bruyne hadn't played for a long time! With this thought, Lin Quan picked up his phone and called De Bruyne to ask what he had been doing recently.
...
About 20 miles away from Stamford Bridge, at the Cobham training ground, a young player wearing a deep blue jersey with the number 15 on the back was practicing free kicks repeatedly on the field.
Sweat dripped from his temples onto his shoulders and jersey.
The deep blue jersey, soaked with sweat, clung tightly to his body, highlighting his physique.
Several club staff members passing by the training ground were surprised to see someone practicing so early.
But when they saw it was De Bruyne, they all shook their heads.
"Sigh, the kid is hardworking, but what's the use of working so hard?"
The old guard sighed, feeling sorry for De Bruyne.
He witnessed De Bruyne coming to Cobham training ground every day, rain or shine.
The old guard had seen De Bruyne transform from a skinny kid to a muscular player.
With his years of experience observing professional players, he believed De Bruyne now had the physicality to compete in the Premier League.
However, for reasons unknown, whether due to bias or something else, Mourinho just didn't like to use him.
Since playing as a substitute for 5 minutes in the fifth round of the league, De Bruyne has not played a match for two months.
In recent matches, whether in the league or the Champions League, he hasn't even been on the 18-man roster.
After being left out of multiple matches, De Bruyne realized that he had no future at Chelsea.
So, the once enthusiastic De Bruyne, who wanted to return to Stamford Bridge, has now lost that passion and is seriously considering leaving Chelsea in the winter transfer window to find a new team.
Last season, he was the top assist provider in the Bundesliga and even broke the Bundesliga assist record.
Therefore, De Bruyne is not worried about his ability being undervalued.
It's just that he doesn't fit Mourinho's requirements, or rather, Mourinho has a bias against players of his type!
After finishing a day of training and returning home, De Bruyne met with his agent, Patrick.
"Kevin, have you decided where you want to go?"
Since Mourinho benched De Bruyne, Patrick had been contacting other teams to find a suitable new home for him.
He has full confidence in De Bruyne's ability and doesn't believe that the setback at Chelsea will significantly impact his career.
Even if De Bruyne doesn't adapt to the Premier League's pace, he can return to the Bundesliga.
He has proven his skills in the Bundesliga and has been recognized by many Bundesliga teams.
Many teams are interested in signing De Bruyne, including Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen, and Wolfsburg.
Besides these mid-level teams, even a top team like Borussia Dortmund is interested in buying De Bruyne.
Among these teams, only Dortmund can't guarantee a starting position, while the other teams promise him a main role and ample playing time.
Patrick believes that joining these teams is better than staying at Chelsea.
"I don't know, I haven't decided yet."
De Bruyne was hesitant; he didn't want to leave Chelsea in such a humiliating manner.
That's why he worked so hard in training, hoping to impress Mourinho and regain his trust.
However, he failed.
Mourinho wasn't moved; he didn't even notice him.
With Chelsea's poor performance, Mourinho was busy dealing with media criticism, studying opponents, and improving team tactics.
He had long forgotten about De Bruyne!
In this situation, all of De Bruyne's efforts were in vain.
"Don't hesitate, you have no place at Chelsea. The Premier League isn't suitable for you. Only the Bundesliga can best showcase your talents. I suggest you transfer to the Bundesliga, where your skills will be better utilized!"
Patrick guessed De Bruyne's thoughts. He probably felt unsatisfied for not proving himself at Chelsea and in the Premier League. But no matter how unwilling he is, he can't gamble with his career!
Staying at Chelsea would gain him nothing and only waste his time.
Without enough match opportunities, his form could quickly decline, making him a forgotten player.
At this moment, he must make a decisive choice and not waste time.
"Okay, I'll listen to you!"
De Bruyne had great trust in his agent; they had been working together for four or five years.
He knew Patrick's advice was for his own good.
"Alright, then we'll continue contacting those Bundesliga clubs. By the way, among these clubs, which one do you prefer?"
Seeing De Bruyne accepting his advice, Patrick felt relieved.
Every player transfer benefits the agent.
Facilitating De Bruyne's departure from Chelsea to another team is beneficial not only to De Bruyne but also to himself.
"Werder Bremen, I really like my old teammates and Coach Schaaf!"
De Bruyne fondly remembered the days at Werder Bremen with his teammates.
At Werder Bremen, he had close friends and caring teammates.
But at Chelsea, he felt like an outsider, isolated and rejected.
No one wanted to be associated with a player the coach disliked, especially one who was dispensable to the team.
De Bruyne had been at Chelsea for about four or five months and hadn't made a single friend.
"Werder Bremen? Their Champions League performance this season is quite good, but I must remind you that their squad is not strong. This season, with three competitions, their league performance has dropped significantly. They're currently only eighth in the Bundesliga and might not qualify for next season's Champions League."
"Dortmund, Leverkusen, and Wolfsburg have much stronger squads. They're currently second, third, and fifth in the standings, likely to secure next year's Champions League spots."
Patrick's meaning was clear; he wanted De Bruyne to join a team playing in the Champions League.
This would give him more exposure and opportunities to improve in high-level matches.
De Bruyne sighed; he was sentimental.
He wanted to return to Werder Bremen because of the enjoyable season he had there, where the team's performance was excellent.
But Patrick's words reminded him that Werder Bremen had changed significantly since last season.
They had lost him and their most important player—Lin!
Without Lin and himself, it was remarkable that Werder Bremen, under Coach Schaaf, had made it through the Champions League group stage.
Given their squad strength, aiming for both Champions League and league success was unrealistic.
Even with his addition, it wouldn't improve much.
So, going to Werder Bremen wasn't a rational choice.
"Alright then, I'll go to Leverkusen or Wolfsburg!"
Patrick was overjoyed and immediately booked a flight to Germany to negotiate with the two clubs.
De Bruyne's market value wasn't low; these clubs might need to prepare over 20 million pounds for the transfer.
Just after sending off Patrick, De Bruyne's phone rang.
He took out his phone, and the name displayed surprised him.
(End of chapter)
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