Danilo Pantic Confirms Chelsea Move 'Should Be Done,' Latest on Andre Schurrle

Partizan Belgrade midfielder Danilo Pantic has revealed that his move to Chelsea is close to completion, but current Blues misfit Andre Schurrle remains in the dark regarding his Stamford Bridge future.

Pantic looks set to join Serbian compatriots Nemanja Matic and Branislav Ivanovic in west London, having been quoted by Russian news agency Novosti (h/t Goal.com) as saying the winter move is almost done:

"In the situation we are now in, going to Chelsea would be the best solution for me and for Partizan. I am not sure when I will be back in Belgrade, I believe in the next day or two, and a transfer should be done this week."

The 18-year-old has only made 18 senior appearances in the Serbian top flight, per Transfermarkt, but gained valuable experience playing in this season's Europa League.

Clearly under the impression that he's ready for a move to the Premier League, Pantic also captains the Serbian under-19 team and would be the latest export from a nation used to selling its best resources, per ESPN's James Tyler:

Earlier in January, the Daily Mail's Simon Jones reported that Pantic had already sealed his west London switch for a fee of £1.25 million and would initially be loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem.

The Eredivisie outfit have acted as a useful farming destination for Jose Mourinho's side, with numerous younger Chelsea players having spent time there in recent years.

Pantic would be taking a familiar risk in seeing his first-team minutes potential diminish after moving to Chelsea, but the teenager seems motivated to earn his stripes with the Premier League leaders.

Meanwhile, Schurrle's exit from Mourinho's squad is not yet certain, although Borussia Dortmund have been reported by Ben Jefferson of the Daily Express as interested in a £27 million deal.

Jefferson mentions the Fiorentina ace Juan Cuadrado as a replacement for the German international, although David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com says the Colombian won't arrive until Schurrle is sold:

Bundesliga giants Wolfsburg have also been linked with a move for Schurrle this winter, but sporting executive Klaus Allofs told German newspaper Bild (h/t Goal.com) the Wolves hold no interest:

"A very clear no. There's nothing to [the speculation]. Even if we were interested, we'd certainly not be alone."

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Allofs could of course merely be attempting to relieve his club of some pressure in their attempts to land the out-of-favour forward, whose form has suffered somewhat since leaving Bayer Leverkusen in 2013.

Speculation linking the 2014 World Cup winner with an exit intensified after both he and fellow winger Mohamed Salah were left out of Tuesday's Capital One Cup squad against Liverpool, per Sky Sports' Pete O'Rourke:

In the pursuit of improvement, Chelsea may indeed wish to sell Schurrle so that they can continue adding superior talents to their squad, but they can't do so unless the interest is there.

Unless they drop their asking price, it may be that the Blues will be forced to hang on to Schurrle for the remainder of the 2014-15 and instead seek a deal this summer.