Borussia Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl has confirmed the club’s desire to sign Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka permanently following the end of his loan spell.

Chukwuemeka had a six-month loan deal with the German side, which has now expired. After impressing with the Bundesliga side, the club is keen on retaining him.

Kehl said: “Carney’s loan ends today. That’s what we agreed with Chelsea. Now, let’s see. We will definitely have some more discussions in the next few days about his situation.

“I think it was a good move from Carney to join us. Now let’s see how we manage everything. It won’t be easy, but for sure we will try to keep him because he’s a very good player. This topic is something for the future, and right now I don’t know what will happen.

“It’s always easier to loan a player than to buy one, especially within Carney’s price range. We are not that far advanced with talks at the moment, but I can tell you that we are pretty close to the player, and he loves Dortmund, so this is quite good. Everything else will be decided between Chelsea and us. That won’t be on Monday or Tuesday. I think it will take some more days.”