Kevin de Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne (left) [Reuters]

Kevin De Bryune is ready to leave Stamford Bridge as Bayer Leverkusen are preparing a bid in signing the Chelsea midfielder in January, according to the Daily Mirror.

The 22-year-old has not managed to break through into the Chelsea starting lineup and is yet to complete a game in the Premier league. The Blues boast a strong midfield with players like Willian, Oscar, Juan Mata, Andre Schurrle, Marco van Ginkel along with De Bruyne's national team-mate Eden Hazard.

Chelsea's strength in depth in the midfield department had initially forced him to think on the lines of a loan move in the summer, but Jose Mourinho's assurances of first team opportunities forced him to stay.

De Bruyne has only started in two league matches this season and lack of opportunities with the Blues has made him consider an exit from the west London club. With the 2014 World Cup approaching, the former Genk player does not want to risk missing out on being part of Belgium's squad in Brazil.

De Bruyne joined Chelsea for £7m from Genk in January 2012. However, he spent the rest of the 2011/12 season on loan with the Belgian club before moving on loan again to Werder Bremen the following season.

However, earlier speculation about his purported transfer out of Chelsea began doing the rounds with Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen believed to be leading the chase for the Belgian international. The Mirror report states that De Bruyne's agent is angling for a £12.5m move to Leverkusen.

According to the Metro, the 22-year-old's agent has held talks with Mourinho, Roman Abramovich's senior adviser Marina Granovskaia and sporting director Michael Emenalo after discussions with Bayer Leverkusen.

The German side's sporting director Rudi Voller confirmed his interest in the Chelsea midfielder and cited that his team are not the only ones who have De Bruyne on their radar.

Bayer Leverkusen are second in the Bundesliga after 16 games with 37 points. They are five points clear off 2011/12 champions Borussia Dortmund and seven points away from leaders Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Schalke's Julian Draxler has been attracting a great deal of interest from various clubs across Europe. Chelsea are also one of the clubs believed to be in the chase and are willing to offer De Bruyne plus cash deal for pursuing the German international.