Chelsea are ready to revive their interest in Bayer Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle and are even prepared to offer Kevin de Bruyne in order to sweeten the deal.

The Blues were keen to secure the services of the 22-year-old in the summer but Leverkusen general manager Rudi Voller refused to allow the forward to leave and turned down an offer believed to be in the region of €20million.

Andre Schurrle
Andre Schurrle celebrating a Germany victory with teammates Mario Gomez and Mario Gotze, [Reuters]

"There is no alternative to the decision of not selling Andre Schurrle," Voller said last summer. "Those adequate players that are available are too expensive and therefore we would be forced to sign a weaker player overpriced. The matter is over with and I have also told Andre so."

Now Chelsea hope that by offering the services of Belgium international De Bruyne and significant funds, they will be able to persuade the German side to part with one of their most prized assets.

The Germany international has played a crucial role in helping Leverkusen push Borussia Dortmund for second place and they remain just four points behind the champions with nine games left to play.

Chelsea are clearly determined to land their man and German newspaper BILD believes that they will offer up to £15million in the summer.

While the paper reports De Bruyne will be offered in part exchange, respected German journalist Rafael Honigstein believes that he will instead be sent on a season-long loan.

"[sic] Schürrle to Chelsea not yet done, but very close. €20m. And De Bruyne will go on loan to Leverkusen - NOT a part exchange," tweeted Honigstein.

The 21-year-old, who can operate in an array of attacking positions, has been excelling in Germany while playing on a season-long loan with Werder Bremen. He may well be seen as an adequate short term replacement for Schurrle and he has proven his class on the international stage.

Despite a wealth of attacking talent, De Bruyne has become a regular for Belgium and recently scored his second goal for his country in a World Cup qualifier against Macedonia.

While De Bruyne has mentioned that he wants to be a success at Chelsea, the chance to play in the Champions League with Leverkusen may well be a tempting scenario.