Without De Bruyne, how do Manchester City move forward?

by Renny Thomas

The American sportswriter, Bill Simmons, coined a theory known as The Ewing Theory, named after the great New York Knicks basketball player.  

The Ewing Theory theorized that a team performed better after their “star player” was lost to injury (The New York Knicks made it to the NBA Finals after the team lost Ewing for the year due to an achilles injury).  

Following the news that Belgian star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been sidelined for at least the next three months for Manchester City, City fans are converting to believers in the “Ewing Theory” and that City can maintain their dominance in the premier league.

The good news for the City is that if there is a team that could lose a player with the gravitas of De Bruyne and not experience a significant drop off, its’ Manchester City.   

While none of the likely strategies to cope with the loss of the talismanic Belgian will have the precision of his attack or his ability to exploit open space, City will have several players with loads of talent to address the absence.

One of the players who may serve as De Bruyne’s replacement could be Ilkay Gundogan. The German midfielder will be able to provide fill the creative void that the Belgian will leave behind. Gundogan is an intelligent playmaker who will be able to find goal scoring opportunities with his inventive passing while also being a rather effective defender. He will lack the brutal precision on ball that De Bruyne has but with his creativity on ball and his effective defensive abilities, Gundogan should be a player that Guardiola will lean on heavily.

Another player who could be tipped to play a much larger role could be Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder is off to an electric start to the 2018-2019 Premier League campaign. With a goal to his name already this season, Silva plays with unceasing energy, constantly moving around the pitch. With the freedom that Guardiola gives to him, he’s able to quickly get to pockets of open space and exploit them for either himself or his teammates. Silva is a midfielder who may be better suited to play out wide but with his uncanny workrate and his ability to make smart, incisive passes, he should prove to be an important player for the Citizens these next few months.

City are a team with an unbelievable amount of depth and De Bruyne’s injury will test that depth.  

While relatively new to Manchester City and the Premier league respectively, players like the newly signed Riyad Mahrez and youngster Phil Foden could be asked to play more significant roles than expected this season.  

Mahrez, newly signed from Leicester City this past transfer window, will provide Guardiola a proven Premier League playmaker and goal scorer from midfield.

Mahrez could be a very effective injury replacement but will need to become more accustomed to Guardiola and Manchester City’s style before he can truly be as effective as his talent dictates.   

Foden, the 18 year old academy product, may be too young to be much of a significant contribution for City, but he is a player with loads of talent (as evident by FIFA U-17 World Cup Golden Ball), that if given an opportunity, could be a star.

With all that being said, Kevin De Bruyne’s injury is a significant loss for City but not a debilitating one and that is bad news for the rest of the Premier League.  

With matches against Liverpool in Anfield (October 7th), Tottenham in London (October 28th), Manchester United at home (November 11th) and Chelsea in London, Guardiola will need players to step up and quickly against the best of the rest of the Premier League.  

Luckily for Guardiola and City fans, they have the depth to stay afloat until De Bruyne is able to rejoin the squad.