Eden Hazard believes Kevin de Bruyne is a "great player" who could have been successful at Chelsea if Jose Mourinho had given him the chance to show his qualities.
The Blues winger indicates he would have kept De Bruyne at Stamford Bridge and not sold him to Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, per L'Equipe (h/t Adam Shergold of the Daily Mail):
He is a great player. Mourinho decided to let him go and not play him.
It was not my decision, even though I know very well that he could play at Chelsea because he has tremendous qualities.
I think at Chelsea, you have more pressure than Wolfsburg. It's a shame he's gone but he'll have a successful career.
De Bruyne has flourished at Wolfsburg, where his excellent passing and vision have come to the fore. He has scored 14 and assisted 21 across the German division and Europa League, per WhoScored.com, helping Wolfsburg to second place in the Bundesliga and the status of favourites at the continental competition.
Perhaps ironically, De Bruyne's domestic assists total can only be matched by one player, per Squawka:
Football writer Alex Chaffer highlighted the former Werder Bremen loanee's career stats in Germany prior to Wolfsburg's 1-1 draw with Mainz:
De Bruyne's qualities can be seen below:
The Belgian's confidence is a world away from where it was with Chelsea last season. Granted, Mourinho only granted him two Premier League starts before seemingly making his mind up, per WhoScored.com.
One of these came in a conservative 0-0 draw away at Manchester United in which De Bruyne was deployed as a false nine. He is a player who thrives off runners moving ahead of him, so this was never going to work.
As shown this season, De Bruyne is most effective when slotting balls through to his team-mates. While he often gets into great positions to score, he is more focused on making sure the striker ahead of him is well-nourished.
It's certainly no coincidence that Bas Dost—who has struggled to make an impression at Wolfsburg since 2012—finally shot to prominence this term.
According to ESPN FC, Mourinho admitted he "didn't like the way [De Bruyne] was training" before eventually moving him on. De Bruyne later told Sport Bild (h/t Stephan Uersfeld of ESPN FC) that "Chelsea were not good for me."
He also suggested his minimal price tag may have influenced things. "Maybe it would have all gone differently if Chelsea had paid €45 million for me instead of €8 million to Genk back in 2012," he said. "I would have had a different standing, and got more chances."
At 23 years old, De Bruyne still has plenty of developing to do. He has quickly become a leader at Wolfsburg, someone whom the team operates around.
Mourinho never appeared intent on giving him this opportunity in west London, which is a decision Hazard obviously disagreed with.
The winger will have to make do with working alongside De Bruyne at international level instead. Chelsea fans and Mourinho may feel a tinge of regret if the pair establish a profitable partnership for one of the sport's quickest-developing national teams.
De Bruyne would have most likely evolved into a star under a different Chelsea manager, but Mourinho's principles will always see him prioritise contributions across the entire pitch from his players.
It's unlikely he regrets selling the player, particularly now that Chelsea are dominant in the Premier League, but the youngster has performed admirably to quickly improve his reputation after such a disappointing spell in England.
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