DE BRUYNE ON THE ROAD TO PREMIER LEAGUE GREATNESS

There was a sense last season that Kevin De Bruyne was struggling with Pep Guardiola's demands. The Belgium international had been earmarked as somebody who could spearhead the new-look Manchester City, but from the mid-point of the season he looked laboured, perhaps weighed down by his new, more industrious role in the Blues' engine room.

He was still putting up the numbers - compared to his debut season at the Etihad, he doubled his Premier League assists and scored one fewer league goal, thanks largely to an unfortunate knack for hitting the woodwork - but it still seemed to many onlookers that Guardiola was not getting the best out of him.

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