BEVERLY HILLS, July 22, (THEWILL) – Former Super Eagles star and ex-Chelsea technical director, Michael Emenalo has disclosed the challenge he encountered in his successful bid to complete the signing of Belgium star, Kevin de Bruyne for Chelsea FC.
De Bruyne, who began his career at Belgian club, Genk, joined Chelsea FC in 2012, where he was used sparingly and then was subsequently loaned to German side Werder Bremen.
He signed with Wolfsburg in 2014 for £18 million and joined Manchester City for a club record £54 million in the summer of 2015.
Emenalo, who spoke to the Guardian of the UK, said: “At first they always said: No player from the youth has ever moved up.
“A guy who’s been here from the age of seven can never be ready to challenge Frank Lampard at the age of 19. So it became crucial to look for players between the ages of 19 and 22 so that we could prepare him to become a Chelsea player. We did that with De Bruyne.
“He was barely 18 years old and a super talent. But the first time when I said about De Bruyne that he would possibly be a Lampard everyone laughed at me. It was the same with Romelu Lukaku. He was 18 years old and I told them to be patient with him for five years.
“My scouts saw what was happening in Belgium. Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Chadli, Vertonghen, Courtois. But they asked me: ‘Since when did Belgium suddenly become Brazil? Who is this Kevin De Bruyne?’ I replied: ‘I don’t look at passports. I am looking at a player. And this player doesn’t give a bad pass. I don’t know if he will become a superstar, but there is something’.”
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THEWILL reports that Emenalo was the technical director of Chelsea until November 2017 when he resigned from the position to become sporting director at Monaco. He however resigned from the post last year.
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