De Bruyne has long been linked with the Blues and revealed during the transfer window that the two clubs were in talks over his signature.
The 20-year-old ended up staying in Belgium but has an opportunity to impress Villas-Boas at close quarters in Genk's Champions League double-header with Chelsea over the next fortnight.
Villas-Boas said: "He's exceptionally gifted technically and reminds me of the old technical Belgian players like Enzo Scifo.
"We've not only scouted him but we've scouted numerous different players before.
"It doesn't mean that all of them we scout will eventually join us."
Genk boss Mario Been admitted on Tuesday night he would sell star midfielder De Bruyne to Chelsea for the right price.
Been, who succeeded Frank Vercauteren as head coach of the Belgian champions at the end of August, said: "I know that Kevin is a really great player and that Chelsea already talked about him.
"Chelsea look and want to buy all the big talents so, for me, it wouldn't be a surprise if Kevin went to Chelsea.
"Everyone's got his price."
Been was hoping for a shock result in Wednesday's Group E encounter against a Chelsea side expected to rest several players, possibly even captain John Terry and vice-captain Frank Lampard.
The hosts will be without Ramires, who is also rated 50-50 for Sunday's Premier League trip to QPR, and Villas-Boas said: "The most important thing for us is that we are aware of the amount of talent that we have at our disposal.
"Any XI that we put across is a very, very strong XI.
"This puts us in a position of comfort to have always a good rest.
"There are situations that might happen regarding the Queens Park Rangers game."
Been added: "They have a big selection with a lot of great players, so it's difficult for me to know who's playing tomorrow."
Fernando Torres is likely to be unleashed tonight, with the Spain striker currently serving a three-match domestic ban.
Been said: "They can play (Nicolas) Anelka, they can play (Didier) Drogba, they can play Torres, they can play everybody.
"They have a lot of players who I will say can come to Genk and help us every week to get a better result."
Source: Team_Talk
