VFL Wolfsburg sign De Bruyne on five-year deal

VFL Wolfsburg sign De Bruyne on five-year deal

 VfL Wolfsburg have strengthened their squad considerably ahead of the Bundesliga's restart by completing the signing of attacking midfielder Kevin de Bruyne from English Premier League side Chelsea FC.The Belgian international, who enjoyed a successful season in the Bundesliga last term while on loan at SV Werder Bremen, has signed a five-year contract with the Wolves and will wear the No14 shirt this season.

"It was clear from the start that Wolfsburg would be the first team I talk to if Chelsea gave me permission," said de Bruyne. "That's why I'm very happy that this transfer has been completed. Klaus Allofs and Dieter Hecking are building a very good team at VfL with a lot of potential. I want to play my part, make sure we continue to be successful, and return to the international stage."

"Kevin is a player with exceptional qualities," added Wolves' coach Dieter Hecking. "I am very happy he's decided to come to Wolfsburg. I had a very good feeling after our first talk with him. He is convinced of our ambition." 

Bundesliga return

De Bruyne displayed his talent on a weekly basis for Bremen last season, making 33 appearances and scoring 10 goals, including one against Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 32 of the 2012/13 season that kept Bremen in the division.

The 22-year-old was signed by Chelsea from KRC Genk in January 2012 and loaned back to the Belgium club for the remainder of the 2011/12 campaign, before moving to the Weserstadion.

The Belgian joins the Bundesliga club having made five starts for Chelsea, with a further four appearances as a substitute.

After travelling with the first team squad for Chelsea's pre-season tour of the US, in which he featured in matches against Seattle Sounders and Paris Saint-Germain, De Bruyne then completed a season-long loan move to Werder Bremen for 2012/13.

De Bruyne returned to Stamford Bridge over the summer and was again part of the first team squad as the Blues travelled to Asia and the US for pre-season preparations. De Bruyne scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 win over AC Milan in New Jersey.

The 22-year-old was handed his competitive Chelsea debut on the first day of the season against Hull City, where he laid on the opening goal of the game for Oscar, and he also started in our 0-0 draw at Manchester United three games into the campaign.

His final appearance for the Blues came in our Capital One Cup defeat at Sunderland last month.