Kevin De Bruyne will sign for Werder Bremen on a season-long loan because Chelsea consider that the next phase of his development would be best served by first-team football away from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea signed the left winger, who can also play as an attacking central midfielder, from Genk for £7m last January and immediately loaned him back to the Belgian club for the remainder of the season, where he found the form of his career.

The 21-year-old was part of Chelsea's pre-season tour to the United States, where he featured in the friendlies against Seattle Sounders, Paris St-Germain and the MLS All-Stars but he will now join Werder in the Bundesliga. The German club have no option to make the deal permanent.

De Bruyne accepted that his opportunities at Chelsea would have been limited, in light of the club's £65m summer spend on attacking midfield talent; they have signed Eden and Thorgan Hazard, Oscar and Marko Marin, and they do not intend to stop there.

Chelsea retain a firm interest in Porto's right-sided forward Hulk but there are complications over the payment that would be owed to his third-party owner while the Wigan Athletic winger Victor Moses is also a target, together with Marseille's right-back Cesar Azpilicueta.

The Chelsea winger Gaël Kakuta is likely to be loaned out, with Marseille, Lyon and Ajaccio having shown an interest.