Defour: De Bruyne’s quality shone early

Kevin De Bruyne’s emergence as one of the world’s best footballers has come as little surprise to Belgium team-mate Steven Defour. De Bruyne has been in sparkling form for Manchester City this season, helping them rack up 17 goals in their last three home Premier League games, and Defour’s side Burnley are next up today at the Etihad Stadium.

The two players shared digs when they were both starting out at Belgian side Genk and Defour saw then in the younger De Bruyne all the attributes that have taken him to the top.

“He really knew what he wanted at that point,” Defour said. “He knew he wanted to be a professional player. You could see when you were talking to him. He just wanted to play football and prove it.”