Kevin De Bruyne downplays the likelihood of a January move to Chelsea

De Bruyne has been on our radar for a long time and was very nearly a Chelsea player on deadline day during the summer. His name is inevitably going to come up often in transfer rumors now that the window is open again, so I guess it's a very good thing that some of the first news about De Bruyne involves some quotes from the player himself. Asked about his future plans De Bruyne said:

It is the intention to find something else at the end of the season. Genk knows that, I have already told them last summer.

It's not too surprising that De Bruyne would feel it's time to move on from the Belgian League. Despite having a slightly down season numbers-wise from last year he's still clearly one of the best players in the league. He was asked about his reduced scoring this year and if he felt it would lower Genk's asking price:

I don't think so. Genk will want at least the same. I haven't spoken about it.

He's probably right, as he's looked fairly good despite only finding the back of the net four times this season. Finally of note, he was asked if moving in January would be possible De Bruyne responded with the following:

No, I don't think so. Genk won't let me go. However, you never know if there will come an offer that can't be refused. However, for me it would be better to end the season at Genk and then make the step.

De Bruyne is Champions League cup tied and probably not a player that would step into the Chelsea first team immediately, so I really struggle to see us making him a priority in January. That's not to say we won't speak with Genk at all, but I'd be fairly surprised to see a deal come to fruition to take away their best player in January only to see him replace Josh in the basket. He's one to keep an eye on though, as we know the club is intersted at the right price.