RC Genk's talented young winger Kevin de Bruyne might be carrying a severe leg injury, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's no longer the answer to Chelsea's issues on the left wing. Ok, he's pretty clearly not going to be a short term answer - he's out somewhere between four and six weeks with a calf injury so bad everyone originally thought it was a broken leg - but he's probably not Premier League calibre right now anyway, so that's not actually the biggest deal in the world.
With Chelsea still looking to snap up young talent whenever they can, de Bruyne would be a great pickup. And, according to the 20-year-old, they're still working on a deal to take him to Stamford Bridge after this season.
My manager went to Chelsea last Wednesday and had a good conversation there. Maybe we’ll reach an agreement before the end of the month, because this is a good piece of business for all three parties involved. If there was an agreement with Chelsea, I would stay with Genk for another year."
How high the odds of me joining Chelsea are? I can’t say, but it’s possible. My feelings tell me to do this, and I always follow my feelings.
-Kevin de Bruyne. Source: Extra Time via VoetbalPrimeur.nl. Translation by arnehehe.
That sounds very much like someone who's keen for a move. Genk might be less happy about it, especially in light of what ended up happening with the Thibaut Courtois deal, so I would suggest that this information is less important than if we'd heard that Genk and Chelsea were in negotiations. De Bruyne obviously wants to come to London, so I can't imagine he'd take much persuading - it's the club that I'd be worried about.
Anyway, it's nice to see that we're still interested in the kid despite the injury. Although I'm worried about the squad as it stands, that doesn't mean I'm not really happy with the prospects we've been amassing this summer. Oriol Romeu, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois are all good bets to leave a major mark at Stamford Bridge, and it'd be fantastic if the Blues could add de Bruyne to that stable I might not mind if Chelsea don't do much strengthening of the first team*.
*Ok I would still mind.
If I were Chelsea, then, I'd pretty much ignore the injury and jump if a deal can be made. As long as de Bruyne is where he's supposed to be in the rehab process, there's no reason not to buy now and then loan back to Genk for the rest of the season. Hopefully they can get something done.