Werder Bremen hope to keep Chelsea centre-back Papy Djilobodji on loan beyond the end of the current season after an impressive start to life in the Bundesliga.
Djilobodji, 27, joined Chelsea from Nantes in the summer for a reported fee of £2.7 million but made only one brief substitute appearance for the club before being sent out on a six-month loan to Bremen in January.
The defender said after making the move that he still hoped to prove himself at Chelsea and there is no option to make the deal permanent, while Bremen, who have had money problems for several years, would struggle to finance a transfer.
Werder CEO Thomas Eichin, though, hopes the Premier League side will be willing to sanction another loan deal for the Senegal international to help raise his market value.
"If Chelsea want to sell him, we'd be without a chance, but should they want to get him more playing time first, we'd be in the mix," Eichin told reporters.
Although Bremen have reached the DFB Pokal semifinals, where they will take on Bayern Munich, they are currently in the Bundesliga's relegation playoff place with 21 games of the season played.
Djilobodji has made four appearances in the league since his arrival at the Weserstadion, and made the prestigious kicker team of the week twice, after featuring in one win, one loss and two draws.
On Saturday, in Werder's 1-1 draw against TSG Hoffenheim, he scored his first goal, hit the post once and had four more attempts. According to the official Bundesliga website, only former Bayern forward Claudio Pizarro has had more shots on target for Bremen than the defender since the turn of the year.
"I was pleased, but the next time I score I also want to win," Djilobodji told reporters.
Bremen coach Viktor Skripnik praised the defender in his postmatch news conference, and said "signing him was the right decision," but Djilobodji has remained coy on his future plans.
"My goal is to help Werder stay in the Bundesliga through my performances," he said. "We'll see about the rest after that."