Thibaut Courtois believes his compatriot Kevin De Bruyne will be a huge hit in England following his big-money move to Manchester City.
De Bruyne failed to make a lasting impression during his previous spell in the Premier League with Chelsea, making just nine appearances in all competitions during a two-and-a-half year association with the capital club. The midfielder did show what he is capable of in two loan spells during this period, most notably in the 2012-13 season when he impressed at Werder Bremen.
This led to a permanent move to the Bundesliga, when he joined Wolfsburg in January 2014 for a fee of £18million. It was whilst at the Volkswagen Arena when De Bruyne really established himself as a player of huge ability, and last season he scored 16 goals and assisted in 27 move as he was named German Footballer of the Year and inspired Die Wolf to a second-placed finish.
His performances also resulted in interest from City, who had been linked with his signature for much of the summer. And the early Premier League pacesetters finally got their man ahead of the transfer deadline, when they paid a club record £55million to lure him to the Etihad Stadium, a move which Chelsea goalkeeper and Belgian compatriot Courtois is sure will be a success.
“He shows his quality and mental strength that after two weeks of negotiation and difficult days he managed to play a very good game and he helped to secure us the victory,” he said after the midfielder scored one and created one in a 3-1 win over Bosnia. “It is very good for him and we are looking forward to having him in the Premier League and show his quality there.”
Whilst De Bruyne will link up with compatriot Vincent Kompany in the blue half of Manchester, he has just missed another of his countrymen after Jason Denayer joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan. The 20-year-old, who already has three full international caps for Belgium, signed a five-year deal in August but has fallen behind recent arrival Nicolas Otamendi.
Manchester City
IN: Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg £55m), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool £49m), Nicolas Otamendi (Valencia £33m), Fabian Delph (Aston Villa £8m), Patrick Roberts (Fulham £8m), Enes Unal (Bursaspor £2m).
OUT: Scott Sinclair (Aston Villa £2.5m), Matija Nastasic (Schalke undisclosed), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic £1.5m), Micah Richards (Aston Villa free), James Milner (Liverpool free), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo free), Stevan Jovetic (Inter Milan free), Edin Dzeko (Roma loan), Jason Denayer (Galatasaray loan).
