BAY BAY ... Andre Schurrle is leaving Leverkusen

Blues move a Schurr thing

Andre timeline

2006: Signs a deal with Mainz.

2009: Makes Bundesliga debut in 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

Sep 2010: Agrees to join Leverkusen at end of season. Makes Germany debut.

2011: Ends final Mainz season with club-record 15 goals.

Jun 2012: Plays at Euros.

Apr 2013: Leverkusen confirm Chelsea contact over Schurrle.

Jun 2013: Chelsea announce deal has been agreed to sign him.

ANDRE SCHURRLE will finally sign for Chelsea in a £17million deal after Bayer Leverkusen dropped their demand to take Kevin De Bruyne in part exchange.

German ace Schurrle has been on Chelsea’s radar for two years but feared his dream move was dead when Jose Mourinho blocked De Bruyne’s departure this week. 

Yet now Leverkusen have agreed to a straight cash deal after signing Hamburg’s Korean striker Heung-Min Son to replace Schurrle. 

The 22-year-old will become the first signing of Mourinho’s second spell as Chelsea boss, even though he was first identified by Andre Villas-Boas and negotiations have been going on since last summer. 

Leverkusen chairman Wolfgang Holzhauser said: “We have made it clear from the beginning Schurrle’s departure would only be possible if we found an adequate alternative. 

“We have now found this and so there is nothing to stand in the way of Schurrle’s move.” 

Schurrle, who cost Leverkusen £5.5m when he joined from Mainz in 2011, has played 24 times for Germany and was part of their Euro 2012 squad. 

He scored 11 goals in 34 games last season to help Leverkusen finish third. 

The attacking wide player will undergo a medical in the next 48 hours and will now find himself in direct competition with Belgium international De Bruyne, who was signed by Chelsea 18 months ago but has yet to play a game for the club. 

De Bruyne spent the whole of last season on loan at Werder Bremen, where he caught the attention of Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia. 

But Mourinho wants a close look at the winger in pre-season training before making any decision. 

Chelsea have once again been inundated with requests to take their squad players on loan and Spanish club Celta Vigo hope to secure midfielder Oriol Romeu next season. 

Romeu is still battling his way back to full fitness after rupturing a cruciate ligament last December but hopes to be ready for the start of the new season. 

The £4.5m capture from Barcelona’s B team has hardly figured for Chelsea since AVB’s departure 15 months ago. 

But his prospects will hardly be helped by the signing of Schurrle, who will arrive in London for the start of pre-season training next month