In light of Kevin De Bruyne’s injury, Jesus Navas, the often forgotten Manchester City winger, is needed now more than ever.
Kevin De Bruyne’s devastating injury during the second leg of the Capital One Cup Semi-final against Everton was a huge blow to Manchester City’s chances of winning four trophies this year. In 31 appearances (all competitions), De Bruyne has been the driving force behind the City attack. In those 31 games, the Belgian has scored 12 goals and assisted on 12 more. He leads the team in assists, and only Sergio Aguero has scored more goals for City.
At only 24-years-old, and despite this being his first year at Manchester City, De Bruyne has arguably been the best player on the squad. From his pinpoint passing, to his ability to lead a counter, to his insane ability to finish, De Bruyne has helped revitalize City in a big way. If he didn’t play another game for the rest of the year, he would still be well worth the £55 million City paid Wolfsburg for him.
But he’s gone now. At least for up to 10 weeks. With his absence, comes City’s big conundrum. There is now a massive hole on the right side that Manuel Pellegrini has to fill. But how do you fill a spot that was occupied by a player with 12 goals and 12 assists? The answer is actually quite simple: you can’t.
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But rest assure City fans, while De Bruyne cannot be replaced, City has players on the roster that can fill in for the injured star. One of those players is Jesus Navas. Yes, the same Jesus Navas who has only managed to score a single goal (in a loss) in 32 games this year. Not exactly inspiring stuff, but if City are going to be successful in De Bruyne’s absence, Navas is going to have to contribute more than usual.
Pellegrini understands that replacing a player like De Bruyne, or even trying to replace him, is ridiculous. Instead, he feels as though it is the responsibility of the entire club to reach another level of play.
“This team has played so many different ways,” said Pellegrini to the Manchester Evening News. “Against Everton, we played different ways during the game. I think the rest of the squad must have the responsibility to replace a very difficult player to replace.”
Navas is one guy, particularly because of the position he plays, that will be looked at to fill that void. Navas, who just recently broke a dry spell that saw him go scoreless for 15 months, has blistering pace and is a more than competent passer.
For Navas to be successful, however, he is going to have to play well with whoever is playing right back, either Pablo Zabaleta or Bacary Sagna. City fans would be delighted to know that the goal scored against Everton has reinvigorated Navas, and should help him going forward.
After that game against Everton, Navas, who fancies himself more of a passer, talked about how scoring the goal helped him.
“But this time, I managed to score a goal, which helps my confidence,” said Navas to Stuart Brennan of the Manchester Evening News.
If Navas is able to parlay his newfound confidence into becoming a legitimate threat on the right side for Manchester City, the club might not miss a beat. “If” being the operative word.