Yesterday, the Daily Mail ran an "exclusive" in which they claimed Chelsea's Kevin De Bruyne had rejected a potential loan move to Bayer Leverkusen. They reasoned that this rejection had put a move for Andre Schurrle in danger, as Leverkusen did not want to sell their best attacker without a replacement.

While these reports suggesting that Kevin De Bruyne would prefer not to be loaned to Bayer Leverkusen might seem to be an obstacle, reports in the German media are suggesting that Leverkusen may have already found a replacement for Schurrle:

Bundesliga side Fortuna Dusseldorf has to plan for the coming season without Robbie Kruse. According to information provided by our editorial team, the Australian striker will sign a contract with league rivals Bayer Leverkusen in the next few days.

Kruse is a solid, versatile attacker, even if he's not quite as good a player as Kevin De Bruyne. If these reports are true, the German side might have already found a reasonable enough replacement for Andre Schurrle that the inclusion of Kevin De Bruyne is no longer a sticking point.

What this means for De Bruyne is still uncertain. All signs point to him either wanting a return to Chelsea or a loan to a top side such as Borussia Dortmund (Dortmund do appear to be interested in the player). I'd much prefer to simply see De Bruyne recalled, as he'd be a clear upgrade to some of the players we're currently running out.

Either way, it's clear that we've had recent interest in Schurrle, and Leverkusen seem willing enough to do business if their valuation is met and if they can find a replacement. Assuming this report is correct and they've found a potential replacement, I'd expect to hear a deal has been completed soon, or that talks between the clubs have completely collapsed. Don't you just love silly season?