Kevin De Bruyne 'best in world' but told he'd struggle away from Man City

Kevin De Bruyne has enjoyed a fine start to the season for Manchester City, although he's been told that it's not been entirely down to him.

De Bruyne has scored three goals and provided 12 assists in 17 games so far this season, putting him on pace to enjoy one of his finest seasons at City. His fine end to last season and the start of this one is reflected by the fact that he has been directly involved in 40 goals in his last 41 appearances, more than any other Premier League player.

The Belgian midfielder was at it again during City's defeat of Sevilla on Wednesday night, providing a brilliant assist for Julian Alvarez just three minutes after coming off the bench.

City fans are used to De Bruyne's magic by now, but for those who don't necessarily watch him week-in week-out, he never fails to dazzle. Speaking to BeMyBet.com, former Manchester United defender and pundit Paul Parker said De Bruyne is the best in the world in his position.

"I would definitely put him beyond [Frank] Lampard. With Lampard, we talk about goals. With Kevin De Bruyne, we can talk about goals and assists.

"He is without a shadow of a doubt the best midfield player in the world but he is also playing for an extraordinary team. It’s absolutely mad that Chelsea allowed themselves to be swayed by Mourinho to let him go. It’s absolutely ridiculous but I guess it was personal."

However, as good as De Bruyne is, Parker thinks that he would lose some of his shine if he were playing for any other Premier League team.

"If you put De Bruyne into another team in the Premier League, he would struggle," Parker said. "He’d still be a good player, but he would not be able to create the same amount of opportunities."