Thierry Henry is right - Man City player on 'different planet' is ready for big change

Seven games, seven wins, seven assists, and two goals, just because he can. Kevin de Bruyne is back and he is cooking; tremble before his ginger majesty, ye footballing peasants.

The Belgian has been nothing short of imperious since returning to the fold for Manchester City in recent weeks, and he was once again in his irresistible pomp during a fairly routine Champions League victory over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday evening. The kings of Europe would score three in Denmark, and De Bruyne would have a hand in all of them.

First there was the nonchalant precision of his opener, a cool assassination of a finish, side-footed assuredly into farthest corner with a matter-of-fact brilliance. Then, having feasted himself, the midfielder did what he does best and so often; he turned provider. Bernardo Silva was the first beneficiary, Phil Foden was also blessed deep into stoppage time.

Naturally, much of the discourse in the aftermath of the final whistle was focused on De Bruyne's exploits, and in particular, the cerebral nature of his superlative abilities. Speaking on CBS Sports, for instance, Thierry Henry said: "Kevin de Bruyne, we all know that right now, physically, he is maybe not at his best, but his brain is pretty quick. You don't need to run when you have a brain. I think he's up there already [with the best midfielders of his generation]. Going now to the top of the top of the top is going to be a different situation. If he adds back-to-back and a third title in a row... I can see him finishing his career lower, as a holding midfielder. He’s that clever."

Now, there is quite a lot to unpack here. This is not the first time that Henry, who worked alongside the playmaker in Belgium's international setup, has heaped praise on De Bruyne. Speaking last year, as one of several examples, the Arsenal icon said: “I still think he’s the most important player in this team. I’ve come across a lot of players, played with a lot of players, saw a lot of players, played against some of the greatest. I think Kevin, his brain is the best I’ve ever seen, the way he sees the game.

"Because his brain is in some places, I don’t know what he thinks about sometimes, you look at him and it’s almost like he’s not with us because he’s that good. Sometimes it can be a problem because you’re not on his level, but I think he’s the most clever player I’ve seen in my life. It’s just second to none, the way he thinks.

“Because I saw stuff he did in training and in games. He’s unbelievable. His brain, I’m still thinking about some stuff I’ve seen, he’s on a different planet."

High, high praise indeed - especially coming from a man who won a World Cup alongside Zinedine Zidane and was present in Barcelona as Lionel Messi began to establish himself as the freakish anomaly that he is.

That being said, perhaps the more revelatory assertion is that as his career begins to ebb away, De Bruyne could transition into a more defensive role entirely. At the time of writing, the Belgian is 32, and will be 33 in June. He is no creaking veteran just yet, and his performances certainly don't hint at any kind of looming stagnation, but nor is he getting any younger. It is a sad inevitability that sooner rather than later, De Bruyne will begin to slow down.

To that end, maybe the French pundit is onto something. While he will never be a combative presence of the same slant as teammate Rodri or Henry's legendary compatriot Patrick Vieira, there is no reason why De Bruyne couldn't operate in much the same way that he does now, but from a deeper position, similar to a Xabi Alonso, or a Andrea Pirlo. Certainly his range of distribution and visionary knack are as good as anybody's in world football, and if anything, you can't help wondering whether an extra twenty yards of turf in front of him would only serve to give him the opportunity of wreaking even more havoc in new and interesting ways. De Bruyne the quarterback is a tantalising prospect to say the least.

Only time will tell whether this is how Pep Guardiola sees his talisman's future panning out, of course, but in the here and now, listening to Henry endorse De Bruyne in the manner that he has, it is hard to disagree with him.