DE BRUYNE'S AGENT TO HOLD TALKS WITH MOURINHO

Kevin De Bruybe's agent will hold talks with Jose Mourinho next week to discover whether the Belgium midfielder will stay at Chelsea in January.

De Bruyne has been a peripheral figure at Stamford Bridge since starting their first two Premier League games of the season and has made only one further league appearance as a substitute, having fallen out of favour with the Portuguese.

The midfielder's lack of first-team opportunities has led to speculation that he could be loaned out again in January, with Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund both keen on taking him.

However, De Bruyne’s agent Patrick De Koster has insisted no decision over his future has been taken and revealed the player signed from Racing Genk for €8 million in January 2012 is "training like a demon" to prove he is worthy of more game time at Chelsea.

"We will make an evaluation with the club in the next few days and decide what is the best solution," De Koster told Goal.

"Of course, Kevin is a player who likes to play regularly but we know Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in the world and there is always going to be competition.

"He has told me that every day he is training like a demon because it means a lot to him. But I will not say that he has to move in January - we will wait for the evaluation from the club."

Last month, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots requested that De Bruyne leave Chelsea to find regular first-team football ahead of next year’s World Cup in Brazil. The 22-year-old is in the Chelsea squad for Wednesday night’s trip to face Sunderland at the Stadium of Light but Mourinho is expected to keep faith with Juan Mata in the absence of the injured Oscar.

Schalke 04 and Juventus have also been linked with a loan move for De Bruyne, who spent last season in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen. Yet De Koster is adamant that the final decision will rest with Chelsea.

He said: "Each day I am hearing different rumours - Atletico Madrid, Dortmund, Juventus. It’s good that everybody shows an interest but is is up to Chelsea to decide what to do.

"For the moment, I have told everybody that we must wait. I have a lot of respect for Chelsea and they have acted in the correct way ever since they signed him from Genk."