Kevin De Bruyne or Cesc Fabregas? Jose Mourinho knows who he'd choose. The Chelsea boss made a brave decision when he shipped the former off to Wolfsburg, basing the spine of his team on £30million man Fabregas. But could it have been the wrong choice? This season, De Bruyne has racked up more goals and more assists than Fabregas, while Mourinho's current midfield maestro searches desperately for his first goal since December.
De Bruyne is in the process of establishing himself as one of the biggest talents in the Bundesliga, helping Wolsburg cement their place in the top echelons of German football.
Typically, the pair play in slightly different positions. Fabregas is more suited to a defensive midfield role, while De Bruyne roams further forward.
Despite this, for £30m you would expect Fabregas to be firing on all cylinders, chipping in with more goals than he has been.
De Bruyne was signed for just shy of £7m in 2012, but mostly consigned to a place on the Stamford Bridge bench, starting just two Premier League games in two years at the club.
He was criminally underused in the league, especially if this season's stats hint at his ability. 19 assists to Fabregas' 18, 13 goals to Fabregas' four.
Indeed, it is the goal count that is most worrying for Chelsea.
| CESC FABREGAS | KEVIN DE BRUYNE | |
|---|---|---|
| LEAGUE APPEARANCES | 23(1) | 24 |
| EUROPEAN APPEARANCES | 8 | 9 |
| LEAGUE ASSISTS | 15 | 14 |
| LEAGUE GOALS | 2 | 8 |
| EUROPEAN ASSISTS | 3 | 4 |
| EUROPEAN GOALS | 2 | 5 |
| TOTAL MINUTES PLAYED | 2745 | 2957 |
| TOTAL ASSISTS | 18 | 19 |
| TOTAL GOALS | 4 | 13 |
They have not been desperate for scorers, admittedly - Diego Costa and Eden Hazard have that covered - but their side could surely have been improved with the talents of the Belgian midfielder.
At the start of the 2013/14 season, De Bruyne was given a fleeting chance to impress, before the door slammed shut on his Chelsea career. His final two starts in the Premier League.
First up, Hull. As assist for Oscar, and an impressive performance that warranted praise from Gary Neville. 'The surprise of the season,' he was tipped as.
Following that, he was entrusted with a place in the starting XI against Manchester United. 60 minutes, zero goals, zero assists.
And from there, zero starts. His only further Premier League appearance came against Fulham a month later. Five minutes at the end, when the game was already won.
He was shipped out on loan to Werder Bremen in January, where he impressed. Perhaps it was the change of surroundings, perhaps slightly easier opposition, but German rivals Wolfsburg later decided that his performances were enough to be worthy of £18m.
He scored 10 goals in 33 appearances on loan in Germany, and has continued where he left off this season. A brace against Inter Milan on Thursday is his latest story of success.
Wolfsburg are now in a commanding position in their Europa League last 16 tie, and that is mainly thanks to De Bruyne.
When he wasn't scoring, he was setting them up, and he earned deserved praise from all corners.
Fabregas, on the other hand, could not do the same against Paris Saint-Germain. Another level of competition, yes, but it is worth considering whether De Bruyne would have been able to make an impact.
Stifled by Marco Verratti and Thiago Motta, the Spain international was largely anonymous.
There is no questioning Mourinho's eye for talent. He has produced them time and time again, but everyone makes mistakes.
De Bruyne may not have impressed week in, week out in a Chelsea shirt, but he was only 20 years old when he joined.
Three years later, he has matured into an impressive footballer. Still baby-faced, but far from it with the ball at his feet.
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