Chelsea still counting Kevin De Bruyne cost 10 years on from systemic transfer failure

Kevin De Bruyne lived up to his side of the bargain. It was 10 years ago on Monday when a bonafide Premier League legend sealed his move to Chelsea in a £7million deal and, in an introductory interview with in-house media, vowed to "work hard to achieve the level that's necessary."

Three league titles, one FA Cup and five League Cups on top of a mountain of personal accolades would indicate he has just about exceeded expectations and a decade on from his arrival it remains a sore point in west London to see it come in the lighter blue of Manchester City.

No shortage of blame has been apportioned to Jose Mourinho, with former colleagues such as Eddie Newton referring to "a personality clash". Yet the player and manager have played down the idea of an enduring rift and rivalry. "I don’t hate Mourinho," De Bruyne told Nieuwsblad last year, even though he rejects the now Roma boss' claim that he knocked on his door demanding to play early in the 2013/14 season.

The reality is it has become too easy, as with so many things now, to point fingers at a manager whose stock has plummeted since the end of his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

Instead there is another, bigger lesson to be learned from that era, applicable to several former Chelsea players beyond De Bruyne or Mohamed Salah. This was a time of peak excess at the club, of buying players without a specific plan in place for them other than they might end up being good.

Hindsight being wonderful, that first interview provides several lines that contextualise the environment De Bruyne was about to enter. "Next season it would be normal to be loaned out," he said. "But I will start the preparations here at Cobham, and if it goes really well maybe I will stay but probably