Belgium should not ‘expect miracles’ from Kevin de Bruyne in the European Championships this summer, despite his impressive return for Manchester City.
That’s according to analysts Marc Degryse and Jan Mulder, who believe Belgium need to be wary of putting too much pressure on the Manchester City star.
De Bruyne has been in stunning form in the last few weeks, having finally returned from a long-term hamstring injury that had left him on the sidelines for the first half of the season.
He made his full return at the beginning of January and has quickly confirmed his status as one of the best in the world since, with an assist against Huddersfield in the FA Cup followed by a goal and an assists in a 3-2 win over Newcastle and assists against Burnley, Brentford and Everton.
That’s sparking hope for Belgium ahead of the summer, when they will be hoping De Bruyne can repeat his Manchester City performances at Euro 2024.
Degryse and Mulder, though, believe that is a foolish hope as the two situations are very different, and pressure should not be put on the midfielder’s shoulders.
“He also has to bring this level to the next top matches towards the semi-finals and finals. Also include the English title battle. You have the feeling that he is growing into his best form at the right time,” said Degryse.
“Belgium has a good team when it comes to names,” responded Mulder.
“But you will never get what De Bruyne has at City. As a trainer, I would do everything I could to do it that way, but it doesn’t work. The Red Devils do not have someone like Bernardo Silva, for example.”
“With City, De Bruyne is the top favorite for everything. They have the best team. That’s not the Devils,” added Degryse.
“So, you should not expect miracles from De Bruyne. You cannot say: ‘Only De Bruyne will make us European champions.’ He is our most important player, but you cannot put all the pressure on his shoulders.”
