Mourinho Hints At Letting Out-of-Favour Forward In From The Cold

Jose Mourinho has hinted that he won't send Kevin de Bruyne out on loan in January with the Chelsea manager pledging to give the young forward more opportunities this season.

De Bruyne has only been utilised by Mourinho seven times in the current campaign and the 22 year old is believed to be considering a temporary move away for the third time in order to build more game time.

With the World Cup just around the corner Belgian fans have made their feelings clear over the attacker's exclusion from the side by booing Mourinho when he attended a recent game and the manager has admitted that he should be using de Bruyne more often.

"Kevin is showing big desire and is working really hard. I feel sorry for not giving him big opportunities," Mourinho told reporters. "He's working better than ever. It's sad when he isn't selected and not playing. He's working in a very professional way which is a change from the beginning.

"When he is working the way that he is working, he has to play sooner rather than later. For tomorrow, he is selected. He has a chance to play. In this block of matches, he has to start matches."

Chelsea are believed to be fielding loan offers for de Bruyne from a number of clubs across Europe but the former Genk man has insisted that he will do whatever Mourinho orders and won't complain if he must remain at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues face Sunderland tonight and will be looking to keep their run of league wins going, having convincingly defeated West Ham and Southampton in recent weeks.