Borussia Dortmund manager says Chelsea playmaker is not a transfer target for January.
Borussia Dortmund will not attempt to sign Chelsea playmaker Kevin De Bruyne in January, according to their manager Jurgen Klopp.
“We have signed great players over the summer,” said Klopp to the Daily Mirror, referring to the likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
“We have a squad we are very happy with.
“He [Kevin de Bruyne] is actually not one we are after.
“He is at Chelsea and given the size and quality of the Chelsea first-team squad it’s quite usual he may sometimes miss out on one or two matches.”
De Bruyne appears to be surplus to requirements under new manager Jose Mourinho, and has been told to train with the reserve side until further notice.
The Belgium international actually shone in the season opener for Chelsea, supplying an assist in an impressive performance against Hull City, but has not started in the Premier League since the team’s second match against Manchester United when he was hauled off after just over an hour.
His lack of defensive contribution is likely a key element of that, and alongside Juan Mata, De Bruyne must work hard to win back his place in the Chelsea team.
Still, it is a battle he is certainly up for, with his agent Patrick De Koster claiming that De Bruyne has no intention of giving up on the Blues yet.
“This summer we decided to stay with Chelsea, and we knew the competition would be hard and that Kevin had to fight,” said De Koster.
“He will continue fighting. I have no contact to other clubs. Even if we were in the transfer period, I would not have any contact.”
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