Setting out Manchester City's Best Attack with Kevin De Bruyne in It

He may have only made five appearances for Manchester City since his club-record £55 million move from Wolfsburg in the summer, but Kevin De Bruyne has made a big impact already.

Having been widely considered one of the Bundesliga’s finest talents, the deal to bring him to the Etihad wasn’t an easy one to complete. Wolfsburg had no need or desire to sell, but City desperately wanted him. Their pursuit was long and arduous, but eventually, they got their man.

And anyone questioning the wisdom of paying such a high fee from the 24-year-old will have perhaps reassessed their opinion after an explosive start to life as a Blue. De Bruyne has settled superbly, adding a new dimension to City’s attack. He offers hard work, wonderful technique and an ability to play perfectly weighted slide-rule balls with seeming ease. If his early form continues and De Bruyne can keep influencing games like he has, the fee will ultimately be seen as a bargain.

He has three goals in three starts, but it’s his ability to control a game that has impressed the most. He constantly wants the ball and constantly wants to create when he gets possession of it. His judgement and decision-making is usually spot on—consistently choosing the right option, whether in wide areas or centrally.

Perhaps not enough was made of his dreadful pass out of defence against Tottenham on Saturday that led to the home side equalising through Eric Dier just before half-time. It was a rare misjudgement but one that was costly. City were in control, and that goal changed the flow of the game. An offside decision should have been forthcoming in the lead-up to De Bruyne’s misplaced ball out from the back, but it was nonetheless a poor error.

However, that moment aside, he’s been superb, and City now face the tantalising prospect of seeing their first-choice front four in action soon. David Silva’s injury has prevented it thus far, but with the Spaniard set to return to action this week, either for City’s Champions League game against Borussia Monchengladbach or the weekend’s Premier League game with Newcastle, a forward line of Raheem Sterling, Silva and De Bruyne in behind Sergio Aguero is a possibility.

Bleacher Report: Formation Builder

Indeed, it was that front four that was named to start the recent game with West Ham United at the Etihad but was thwarted when Silva pulled up injured in the warm-up. On paper, it looks like the best attack in English football and one capable of making a big impression in Europe.

Behind Aguero, who is struggling to find his best so far this season, there’s a mix of everything.

Sterling, 20, brings pace and width. He’s been impressive if not spectacular so far this season, adding a balance to City’s forward line that was previously missing. His speed worries full-backs, and his directness is different to most others in the City squad. Only Jesus Navas, whose final ball has let him down badly so far this term, brings that same willingness to run in straight lines at speed.

The tiki-taka style of the likes of Silva, De Bruyne and Samir Nasri is all well and good, but without players offering pace and width, it could prove one-dimensional. Sterling is yet to have a truly great game, but just his presence and willingness to run with the ball has added an important quality for City going forward.

Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

If Sterling is there to worry defenders with pace, Silva is the man expected to dictate the game. His form before his injury was sensational. Afforded more room in the middle because of the twin win threat of Sterling and Navas, who have stretched defences all season, Silva was thriving—the heartbeat of the side and the man the other City players look for when in possession.

It’s doubtful there’s a better No. 10 in the game at the moment. There’s certainly no one in the Premier League who can compete with his creativity. At 29, some may have felt he was set to suffer a decline, but given he has never relied on pace, he could have years left at the top. His game is about vision and intelligence, and the Spaniard displays both of those attributes as vibrantly as ever.

De Bruyne is perhaps the heir to his No. 10 position, but for now he’ll have to be content with a role on the right-hand side of City’s attacking trio. Navas will be the fall guy, but he can have no complaints given the lack of quality he has provided when in good positions this campaign. 

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Of course, the positions aren’t fixed. Sterling, Silva and De Bruyne are all good enough to interchange freely. It will be difficult for defenders to know how to pick them up if they play with the kind of fluidity they are capable of once they know each other’s games more intimately.

"I think he can play in the three positions, on both wings and behind the striker," Pellegrini said of De Bruyne in a recent news conference. "He doesn't have any problem to change his position."

With Silva having played regularly in the centre and on the left, and with Sterling already having played as a withdrawn forward, it's clear there is real tactical flexibility in Pellegrini's squad now. 

Getting Aguero back into form will be key for Manuel Pellegrini. Right now, the striker looks completely out of sorts. His movement, which is the defining feature of his game when at his best, is nonexistent, as is his sharpness, both mentally and physically. He’s scored one league goal so far this season and has had plenty of chances to add to his tally, but his usual calmness has eluded him.

He’s snatched at chances, blazed them over the bar, put them wide and missed open goals. It’s been most unlike him. At his best, he’s the most feared out-and-out striker in Europe, but right now something is amiss. 

Aguero’s periods of not scoring regularly are usually short. With the likes of Silva and De Bruyne behind him capable of providing chances, it surely won’t be long before he’s back finding the net.

And when he does, City will have a front four which should frighten opposition managers. The range of qualities is remarkable: pace, guile, work rate, technical brilliance and goals. It's the kind of line-up their spending has demanded. 

Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.