Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted his regret for not giving Kevin De Bruyne more opportunities than he could have but hopes the midfielder stays at Stamford Bridge.
The Belgian international is very much in demand as he seeks regular football ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Brazil and has been linked to the likes of Juventus, Atletico Madrid and a number of German Bundesliga clubs over a winter move.
De Bruyne fell out-of-favour with Mourinho after his performance against Swindon in the Capital One Cup which many argued was a little harsh and he hasn’t been afforded the chance to improve upon that display much since.
The 22-year-old has only made six appearances for the Blues so far and Mourinho has spoken of his guilt in relation to this.
Mourinho was quoted by RTBF:
“Kevin is showing great desire and he is working hard.
“I feel a little guilty because I could not give him many chances to express himself. It is sad when he does not appear in the team, but he reacted in a very professional manner.
“We need him but we must analyse the situation and be honest. This is something the club will decide.
“I like him as a player and I’m starting to appreciate him as a man. He is a good boy and hopefully I can give him sufficient time in games to convince him to stay. I really like the player.”
The Portuguese manager recently said something similar about Juan Mata, a player that he had almost immediately ostracised to everyone’s bemusement almost as soon as he returned to Stamford Bridge and retake the helm as Chelsea’s boss. Since then he gave Mata a chance against Southampton and was rewarded by the player’s performance and he’ll be an important player to Mourinho – especially with Oscar injured.
Since the loss against FC Basel Mourinho has held up his hands a number of times admitting mistakes in his selections, in not playing certain players enough and failing to rotate the squad in order to keep his staff fresh.
I think the experience Mourinho had last season at Real Madrid is often understated and has left the manager a little paranoid but recent signs suggest that he is getting over this and this is probably down to the maturity shown by the out-of-favour players under his command.
De Bruyne is a talented player and definitely one I would like to see more of in the XI.
