De Bruynee 'happy at Werder'

De Bruyne arrived on a season-long loan deal at the start of the season but recent reports have suggested he was not enjoying his time in Germany.

Allofs has scoffed at the claims and instead revealed that the 21-year-old Belgian had himself chosen to go to Bremen despite Chelsea's wishes for him to remain in England.

"Kevin's identification with Werder Bremen is at 100 per cent. Whether he is happy with the city of Bremen, the mentality or not, is another thing. He wants to be successful," Allofs told Kreiszeitung Syke.

"He is still inexperienced in his game and in the things he says. I answer back the critics that say that he is a typical mercenary.

"He did not have to play here. Chelsea did not want him to loan to Germany, they rather wanted him to stay in England. Kevin did it out of conviction. We talked to him pretty early - had very long talks.

"We persisted and explained to him what we had in mind. He was fascinated by our ideas. And he now told me again: 'I'm happy that I play for Werder Bremen'."

De Bruyne has been one of Bremen's few shining lights in a difficult start to the season, scoring three times in eight games to be the club's equal leading scorer and adding two assists.