Belgium boss: Kevin de Bruyne needs to leave Stamford Bridge

Marc Wilmots has told Kevin de Bruyne to go in search of first-team football if he cannot secure a place in the starting eleven at Stamford Bridge before the January transfer window opens.

De Bruyne has only played a handful of games for Chelsea so far this season and looks to be out of favour under new manager Jose Mourinho. The young Belgian enjoyed a productive spells on loan at Werder Bremen last season, but has struggled to break into the first-team this season with several international stars all competing for places in Mourinho’s midfield.

Wilmots, Belgium head coach, has suggested that a player of de Bruyne’s talents should not be sitting on the bench and the 22-year-old should seek a loan move ahead of the World Cup finals in Brazil.

“My request is that Kevin de Bruyne plays regular first-team football,” Wilmots told BILD.

“Everyone knows what he is capable of.”

With German side Schalke rumoured to be interested in bringing the midfielder to Gelsenkirchen, Wilmots has underlined the importance of playing regular first-team football and says a move to the Veltins Arena would be a wise choice – Wilmots played over 100 games for the Bundesliga side in the 1990s.

“Schalke is a special club for me and it would be great to see a player of this quality play for Schalke 04.”

Schalke’s general manager Horst Heldt has refused to rule out a move for the Chelsea man and has revealed a personal admiration for the Belgium international.

“Kevin de Bruyne is a player that many clubs are about to consider,” said Heldt.

With Belgium going into the World Cup as tournament dark horses, de Bruyne will not want to miss out on the ride because of not playing enough football in the season leading up to it. If he wants to continue his role with the Belgium national team he must find a solution to his problem at Stamford Bridge, one way or the other.

Kevin de Bruyne scored 10 goals for Werder Bremen last season – including a 40-yarder – and came second in the club’s overall Performance Score rankings with 1020.

Kevin De Bruyne’s Goals Last Season