De Bruyne Set For Chelsea Exit

De Bruyne Set For Chelsea Exit

The 22-year-old Kevin De Bruyne is seemingly surplus to requirements at the Bridge, with Mourinho preferring to deploy alternate midfielders in his position. Even in their last Premier League game against Stoke City which they lost 3-2, Mourinho preferred to start Andre Schurrle instead of De Buryne, who was once again warming the bench. With the likes of Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Schurrle, Lampard and even Mata ahead of De Bruyne, it is only a matter of time before the attacking midfielders seeks a move away from the club.

In fact, the Belgian’s last league appearance was a cameo appearance from the bench in the Blues’ 2-0 home over Fulham back in September. He has not even appeared as a late substitute in any of Chelsea’s league matches since then with the exception of against Steaua briefly.

With the World Cup looming at the end of the season, De Bruyne knows he needs to be playing regularly if he wants to represent his country next year in Brazil. Belgium coach Marc Wilmots, who considers De Bruyne an important member of his hugely talented squad, has already told the former Genk midfielder that he should secure regular first-team football.

De Bruyne was regularly playing last season when he was at German club Werder Bremen on a season-long loan from Chelsea. He scored 10 goals and provided 9 assists in what was an impressive campaign personally for him.

Although Mourinho brought him back and gave him a chance to succeed at Chelsea, things have not quite worked out for the talented winger. According to ESPN, De Bruyne is set for a January exit with high-flying German outfit Bayer Leverkusen in pole position to land the out-of-favour Chelsea midfielder.

Although there is interest from a variety of German clubs, his agent has claimed that Leverkusen, currently second in the Bundesliga table behind table-toppers Bayern Munich, are favourites for his signature if Chelsea give him permission to leave.

He said, “I will fly to London next week to find a solution with Chelsea. Should Kevin be allowed to leave, I will call [Bayer Leverkusen squad manager] Michael Reschke within 30 minutes. We have an excellent relationship. Dortmund, Gladbach, Schalke and Wolfsburg have also been in touch with me. Kevin will take a look at where is best for him.”