De Bruyne snubbed, with two Man Utd legends ahead of Man City ace in pundit’s all-time Prem rankings
Man City star Kevin de Bruyne
A Premier League winner has labelled Kevin de Bruyne an ‘artist’, though the Manchester City star is behind two Manchester United icons when it comes to the best ever midfielders to play in England.
De Bruyne has missed a large part of the 2023-24 season due to a hamstring injury. He made only his second Premier League appearance against Newcastle United on Saturday, and it turned out to be a very memorable day for the 32-year-old.
De Bruyne came off the bench in the 69th minute when City were 2-1 down at St James’ Park. But he put in a sensational performance to haul Pep Guardiola’s side to a dramatic 3-2 victory.
De Bruyne dragged City level just five minutes after coming on when he found space in between the Newcastle midfield and defence before driving towards the box and sending a cultured low finish into the bottom corner.
The Belgian then turned provider, picking out Oscar Bobb with a curling pass. Bobb showed fantastic composure to ride the challenge from Kieran Trippier and beat Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka with a skilful two-touch finish.
De Bruyne’s game-defining performance has led to renewed talk about whether he is the greatest midfielder the Premier League has ever seen. The five-time English champion is often put towards the top of that list alongside legendary former players such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes, among others.
But Chris Sutton, who won the Prem title with Blackburn Rovers in 1995, has gone with a rather controversial top five.
He left Liverpool legend Gerrard out entirely, and explained why Roy Keane and Paul Scholes are ahead of De Bruyne in his opinion.
Kevin de Bruyne ranked third in Prem midfielder list
“Patrick Vieira at five,” he said on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast. “I mean just the way he lifted that Arsenal team, the greatest Arsenal team I’ve ever seen in my lifetime.
“He had everything, brilliant leadership, he was strong, he was robust. Lifted players around him, but he would be in at five.
“Frank Lampard at four, his numbers, the goals he scored. A lot of penalties. A lot of 30 yarders as well. Big goals as well, a big game player. So he’d be my number four.
“The artist Kevin de Bruyne at three. What can’t he do? He’s got such unbelievable awareness. Eyes in the back of his head.
“At number two, Roy Keane. I just would have loved to have been in that Manchester United team in that dressing room.
“I was in awe of him [and of] that whole United team. He was the leader, he was the catalyst, he was the go-to man, the driving force, so he would be in it too.
“My number one would be Paul Scholes. I mean, what couldn’t he do?
Paul Scholes ‘every bit as good as De Bruyne’
“And people talk about De Bruyne. I think Scholes was every bit as good as De Bruyne in terms of passing range, ability and awareness.
“He was maybe stronger in the tackle than Kevin De Bruyne. But I mean, it’s so difficult to choose. But if you look at Paul Scholes’ numbers, I think 11 Premier Leagues, he won.
“De Bruyne is nowhere near that at this moment in time. He [Scholes] went back to Manchester United [after initially retiring] and won things as well. He was such a phenomenal player.”
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