Former Chelsea winger Joe Cole has revealed urged the Blues to sign Kevin De Bruyne for a second time.
The Belgium superstar recently confirmed he will leave Manchester City at the end of this season, ending a glittering ten-year spell at the club.
In 414 appearances, he has netted 106 goals and assisted 176 times, making Chelsea live to regret letting him go in 2014.
De Bruyne previously played for the west London club from 2012-2013 but only appeared nine times.
The midfielder went out on loan to German side Werder Bremen in 2012 where he bagged 20 goals and assists in 36 matches.
Then in January 2014, Bundesliga team Wolfsburg signed De Bruyne for £18m.
He won the German Cup and Super Cup with Wolfsburg while putting up spectacular individual performances which earned him the 2015 Bundesliga player of the year award.
The same year he signed for Manchester City, costing them £54.5m.
The 33-year-old is arguably Man City’s best ever player, having won six Premier League titles, five Carabao Cups, two FA Cups and a Champions League.
And Cole believes De Bruyne can still be the ‘perfect’ player for Chelsea.
“If I’m Chelsea and I’m sitting around with them [the board], I’m going, ‘we need experienced players’,” he said.
“He’s been injured a bit, but what he gives the changing room as a winner, as a leader, we might only need him for 30 games a season, we can manage him.
“Imagine him walking through the door with those young players and those difficult moments. I would say, ‘whatever you want, we’ll write it off’. Come and play for us for two years.”
De Bruyne has been linked with moves to the MLS and Saudi Arabia, but has not ruled out staying in the Premier League.
His performance on last week, during Man City’s 5-2 comeback win over Crystal Palace, showed that he is still highly capable despite his age.
He scored Man City’s first goal, whipping in a 25-yard free-kick off the post and assisted the Mateo Kovacic to take the lead.
“It’s been a hard year, having a hernia wasn’t fun, but now I’ve been pain-free for the last six weeks and that’s a massive difference – playing with pain or not,” De Bruyne told TNT Sports after City’s win over Palace.
“But now I feel free, I’m able to do a lot of training, and I feel I can do a good job.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen but I want to play on, so we’ll see where I can end up.
“I don’t know how I’m going to feel, I’ve been here so long, my family has been here for 10 years, my kids were born in Manchester, lived their whole life here.
“It’s going to be something different for them. I think they’re a bit scared, excited, but it’s a bit of an unknown because we don’t know what’s going to happen for the moment.
“But I want to enjoy, play good football like I did today, and for the rest, I’ll be fine. If I can play football and my family is happy, I’m good.”
Enzo Maresca’s side have had a tumultuous time this season as they battle for a return to Champions League football – a competition they haven’t been in since 2023.
They have signed many young potential stars but what Chelsea lack is mature, experienced players.
Reserve goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli aged 32 is the only player over 30-years old in the squad.
