Report: Chelsea back in talks over Kevin De Bruyne

By all accounts we were awfully close to signing Genk winger Kevin De Bruyne this past summer as the deadline neared. While a fee was never agreed, it seemed a mere formality that we would be re-engaging the Belgian club either in January or come next June. Reports out of Europe this morning suggest that we've indeed been in contact with the club while trying to hash out the details of a move for De Bruyne. For those not familiar, we profiled the young Belgian here last March.

De Bruyne is currently cup tied in the Champions League. The youngster would likely not factor into our plans this year anyway, so that may not be much of a concern. We were reportedly willing to loan the player back to Genk this past summer, but that became an issue when we were drawn into the same group as the Belgian champions. Now that Genk has had their fun in Europe it seems likely that they'd be more amenable to a sign and loan agreement.

I don't know much about this particular source, so I really can't comment on their general creditably. It's seemed pretty clear for a while now that De Bruyne is a guy Michael Emenalo loves. If we're still in on the player I'd just as soon get this deal done and dusted now as opposed to drawing it out even further. We'll keep you informed as we hear more...