Holzhauser: Schurrle Already Signed Pre-Contract Deal With Chelsea

With the summer transfer window set to re-open, there is plenty of gossip doing the rounds in the newspapers so we’ll keep you up-to-date with the latest transfer rumours. Today, has Andre Schurrle already signed a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea?

Bayer Leverkusen’s general manager Wolfgang Holzhauser believes that Andre Schurrle has already signed a pre-contract deal with Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail.

The report claims the Blues tried to sign the 22-year-old German international last summer but a deal couldn’t be agreed and Schurrle remained at Leverkusen where he’s continued to impress over the last 12 months.

Holzhauser has now confirmed that the club have received a ‘concrete’ offer form Chelsea for the versatile attacker, and while the Bayer supremo believes Schurrle may already have signed a pre-contract agreement with the Blues he also revealed that the transfer won’t be completed until they have a replacement in place.

‘Andre Schurrle has probably signed a pre-contract deal with Chelsea,’

‘It all depends on whether we let him go. We have received a concrete offer for a fee which we are considering.

‘But the price alone is not decisive. We must also have alternatives, which we don’t have yet.’ Holzhauser is quoted as saying by the Mail.

The Mail suggest one alternative Bayer are keen on is Chelsea winger Kevin de Bruyne, who has been in excellent form while on loan with Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen this season.

However, Holzhauser revealed that Borussia Dortmund have tabled a sizable offer for the Belgian international but with Chelsea understood to be keen on another short-term loan, a deal with Leverkusen could still be struck that would pave the way for Schurrle’s proposed move to be completed.

‘He [de Bruyne] still has a few talks to hold with Chelsea,’

‘It looks like there is an offer from Dortmund to sign the player for a relatively high fee.

‘According to our information, Chelsea don’t want to sell him but just loan him out.’ Holzhauser is quoted as saying by the Mail.

A player-plus-cash swap deal involving Schurrle and De Bruyne – with the Belgian moving on loan – seems like the most sensible solution, but the deal may hinge on whether De Bruyne would be willing to join Leverkusen or not.

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