Rio Ferdinand claims Erling Haaland’s arrival at Man City placed huge ‘demand’ on Kevin de Bruyne
Rio Ferdinand claims Erling Haaland’s arrival at Man City placed HUGE ‘demand’ on Kevin De Bruyne this season… but insists the Belgian has ‘responded perfectly’ by helping the Premier League’s top scorer set an astonishing pace
- Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne
- The ex-Man United star believes Haaland’s arrival placed huge ‘demand’ on KDB
- Haaland is currently the Premier League’s top goalscorer with 18 this season
- Meanwhile, De Bruyne leads the top flight’s assist chart with a tally of nine
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Rio Ferdinand insists Erling Haaland‘s summer move to Manchester City placed huge ‘demand’ on team-mate Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne has racked up 13 goal involvements this season as the Premier League champions, now bolstered by the arrival of Haaland, look to continue their run of domestic dominance.
Speaking ahead of City’s final Premier League game before the Qatar World Cup, Ferdinand explained how the Norwegian’s arrival in Pep Guardiola‘s team has put pressure on De Bruyne to showcase his talents – a pressure he is so far living up to.
Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Kevin de Bruyne (centre and right) lead the Premier League’s goal and assist charts so far this season
Rio Ferdinand says Haaland’s arrival at City placed huge ‘demand’ on De Bruyne’s shoulders
‘Having Haaland here gives him [De Bruyne] the platform to get the plaudits,’ the Man United legend said on BT Sport. ‘I don’t think we’ve seen a more public display of demand put on Kevin from the manager. Kevin has responded perfectly.’
Former City defender Joleon Lescott believes it is the Belgian’s ability to maintain high standards that sets him apart from the rest.
Joleon Lescott feels he should be compared to the Premier League’s greatest midfielders
‘Pep always wants more,’ he said. ‘What separates De Bruyne for me is consistency. He does it every week.
‘We never question his performance. He’s pretty much man of the match every week.’
Lescott further claimed that De Bruyne’s performances since joining the club in 2015 have earned him the right to be viewed among the Premier League’s greatest midfield talents.
‘At the moment he’s the most efficient,’ he added. ‘He’s up there, (Steven) Gerrard, (Yaya) Toure, (Paul) Scholes he’s in that bracket.’
Peter Crouch explained from a forward’s perspective just how lucky Haaland is to have a team-mate with the passing quality of De Bruyne behind him.
‘Imagine being Haaland and having that supply line every week,’ Crouch said. ‘Towards the end of my career here I was on the bench, De Bruyne set up five. As he came off I felt like getting up an applauding. The weight of pass is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He’s been doing it for so long.
‘It’s mouthwatering for a striker. De Bruyne reminds me of Gerrard, when he goes into that right hand side position and he puts the crosses over to absolute perfection. There’s no one more that Haaland would rather have behind him.’
