Chelsea Transfer News: Striker Saga Takes New Twist

Borussia Dortmund director of sport Michael Zorc claims Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne wants to join the ranks at the Westfalenstadion next season, raising uncertainty over Bayer Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle's proposed move to Stamford Bridge.

Lerverkusen had agreed on a deal that would see Schurrle making a switch to Chelsea this summer, provided de Bruyne, who impressed last season on loan at Werder Bremen, move in the opposite direction on a one-year loan.

However, Leverkusen's domestic rivals Dortmund, who were also heavily linked to de Bruyne in recent weeks, has now stated that the Belgium international is only interested in signing for them this summer.

"De Bruyne only wants to come to us," Zorc pointed out.

Leverkusen's general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser had recently emphasised that the agreement between them and Chelsea regarding Schurrle's protracted transfer, depends heavily on de Bruyne spending a loan season at the BayArena.

"We have reached an agreement with Chelsea. They are going to buy Andre Schurrle for a specific fee and, in return, they will loan de Bruyne to us for a year for free. I expect Chelsea to stand by what has been agreed," the German stressed.

Dortmund and Leverkusen had finished second and third in the Bundesliga last season, with just one point separating them. The duo also battled for the services of versatile Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, with the Borussians emerging successful in signing the 24-year-old from Bremen.

"Maybe we have come too close to Borussia Dortmund. Maybe Dortmund wants to keep us down as a competitor," Holzhauser opined regarding the de Bruyne transfer saga.

The 21-year-old has 10 goals and nine assists to his name from 33 Bundesliga appearances for Bremen last season.

Considering the rivalry between the clubs, it's highly unlikely that Leverkusen would allow Chelsea to sign Schurrle, if the Blues let de Bruyne move to Dortmund. In that case even a much higher transfer fee would not be enough for Roman Abramovich to land the German, who has been his long-time target.