Chelsea want £25million for midfield outcast

Chelsea have slapped a £25m price-tag on Kevin De Bruyne as Wolfsburg step up their interest in the Belgium midfielder.

De Bruyne is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and has not appeared under Jose Mourinho in the Premier League since September.

With the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard, Willian, Andre Schurrle and Juan Mata all ahead of him in the queue for a first-team place, Mourinho is opening to letting him leave this month.

But Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws claim the Blues, who posted annual losses of nearly £50m earlier this week, will seek a fee of around £25m, which is nearly four times the £6.7m they paid Genk for his services back in January 2012.

Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs has already held talks with Chelsea and the player's agent, but it is thought he is only willing to offer around £17m at this stage.

Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach are also keen on De Bruyne, but he has his heart set on a move to Wolfsburg and a reunion with Allofs, who was at Werder Bremen when the Belgian moved there on loan last season.