Andre Schurrle Departure Nears as Chelsea Close in on Juan Cuadrado Transfer

Andre Schurrle's departure from Stamford Bridge now looks inevitable with the Blues' signing of Fiorentina winger Juan Cuadrado moving ever closer. 

The World Cup winner has simply never quite nailed down a first-team spot under Jose Mourinho—he has started only five league games this term per WhoScored—and he is set to be moved on to make way for Cuadrado, per Neil Ashton in the Daily Mail.

However, Schurrle is not simply being pushed out of the door to the first suitor.

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The Blues are looking to raise the cash to buy Cuadrado—reportedly valued at £26.8 million per the Guardian's Dominic Fifield—by moving Schurrle on to either Borussia Dortmund or Wolfsburg for £30 million, per Ashton's piece.

Indeed, while The Telegraph is reporting that the 24-year-old Schurrle has asked for his price-tag to be lowered to facilitate his move, the Blues will no doubt look to drive a hard bargain:

As the Daily Mail's Charlie Skillen notes, Chelsea have a history of getting their money's worth, even for players they no longer need—see the recent sales of Romelu Lukaku and David Luiz to name but two—and Schurrle's transfer is likely to be no different. 

However, he does seem to be nearing the Stamford Bridge, joining the Blues from Bayer Leverkusen in 2013 for €21 million (£18 million).

Schurrle is a terrific player—as he proved with a number of high-quality cameo performances for Germany at the World Cup—and it is unsurprising that he is attracting interest from the Bundesliga, with Goal UK's Graeme Bailey indicating Dortmund are leading the way:

But, as B/R UK's Sam Tighe indicates below, Cuadrado is something of an upgrade on the German, and it will be a terrific piece of business if the Blues can fund most or all of the Colombian's purchase with Schurrle's sale:

Cuadrado is an incredibly versatile player who offers great pace and movement on the flanks, while also being able to fill a more central role.

He also has experience playing in a deeper-lying wing-back role, and he could provide more defensive balance to Chelsea's current attacking unit.

Schurrle should flourish in a return to the Bundesliga where he will surely command more first-team football, but unfortunately for him, he never quite made the grade for Mourinho's Chelsea.