Bayer
Leverskusen forward Kai Havertz is a youngster who enjoys breaking records.
He recently became the first Bundesliga player to reach 35 goals before
turning 21, being involved with goals in eight of his last 12 appearances -
scoring eight times with four assists.
It is this kind of influence and impact that has seen a flurry of clubs
vying for the Germany international's signature. Sky Sports News reported
recently Chelsea are the favourites to sign Havertz this summer, but are not
willing to pay the £90m asking price.
However, Havertz has told Bayer Leverkusen he wants to leave and the club
are willing to negotiate as the 21-year-old only has two years left on his
contract. There also should be no issues with Chelsea finalising personal
terms with him and all parties are confident a deal can be struck, which
could be structured in instalments, with bonuses and add ons which would
satisfy everyone.
A number of media outlets have also linked Bayern Munich, Real Madrid,
Barcelona, Manchester United and Liverpool to the youngster, but with so
much noise being made about him, is the hype around Havertz justified?...
The record-breaker
Born in Aachen, Germany in June 1999, Havertz joined the Leverkusen academy
aged 11 and made his first-team debut in October 2016, becoming the club's
youngest Bundesliga debutante at 17 years and 126 days old.
He quickly established himself as a regular in the first team and continued
to break records. He became Leverkusen's youngest goalscorer in the
Bundesliga on April 2, 2017 when he scored in a 3-3 draw against Wolfsburg.
A year later, Havertz became the youngest player to reach 50 Bundesliga
appearances at 18 years and 307 days old, breaking the record previously
held by international team-mate Timo Werner.
In the 2018/19 season, he scored 17 goals - the most by a teenager in a
single league season - and lost out on the German Football of the Year award
to Marco Reus by the smallest of margins.
He has continued that form this term, despite the interruptions. He scored
in the opening game of the season - a 3-2 win against Paderborn - which was
his 25th Bundesliga goal, become the second-youngest player of all-time of
reach the landmark behind Horst Koppel.
Fast forward to December and he featured in his 100th Bundesliga game,
breaking another Werner record as the youngest player to do so at the age of
20 years, six months and four days old.
The suspension of the Bundesliga did not affect Havertz one bit. He scored
twice and assisted three goals in the four games prior to the league
closure, and picked up with doubles in the first two games back against
Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach.
He scored another in a 1-0 win against Freiburg - reaching that 35 goal
milestone - but was injured 12 minutes later and missed a 4-2 defeat to
Bayern Munich.
Havertz did play in the final four Bundesliga games of the season though -
scoring and assisting during a 3-1 win against Cologne - but was redeployed
as an attacking midfielder after injury having played as further forward
during his burst of form either side of the restart
The 'alleskonner'
Havertz has been likened to fellow Germans Mesut Ozil, Michael Ballack and
Toni Kroos and is known in Germany as an 'alleskonner' - someone who can do
everything.
Speaking recently on The Football Show, former Liverpool midfielder and Sky
Germany pundit Dietmar Hamann said: "He's an exceptional player who reminds
me of a young Michael Ballack.
"He has that air of arrogance in a nice way about him and he's just a
natural, he's two-footed, he's tall and he's good in the air. He's very
versatile, he can play across the front, he can play in any position. I
think he is the best player we have got in Germany at the moment."
In the Bundesliga this season he has created 15 big chances, which is the
sixth highest in league. By the same token, he has created 59 chances
overall in 30 appearances.
He has a passing accuracy of 85.44 per cent and has completed 402 of the 499
final third passes he has attempted (80.56 per cent), putting him in the
Bundesliga's top 10 for the latter.
Havertz has previously been used as a central midfielder - an area that will
have improved his defensive capabilities - but this season, has been used in
mostly forward positions, with Leverkusen manager Peter Bosz recently
deploying him more as a centre forward.
In his new role, comparisons have been made to Robert Lewandowski and since
the turn of the year, the Bayern striker netted 15 times with Havertz
scoring 10 goals. Not a terrible comparative tally when looking at the two
players - one among the best strikers in the world and the other a young,
up-and-coming talent with plenty still to learn.
Wherever he may be played, Havertz has undoubtedly proven he can influence
the attacking play and score goals from across the forward line, which will
only increase his value.
Who has been linked with Havertz?
Like the Champions League draw, put your hand into a bowl filled with the
world's best teams, pick one out and they have probably been linked with
Havertz.
Havertz is currently contracted to Leverkusen until 2022 and despite the
impact the coronavirus pandemic will have on transfer fees, the Bundesliga
still value their player at £90m but according to Sky Sports News, are
willing to negotiate.
Chelsea look increasingly likely to sign the 20-year-old talent with Frank
Lampard having the full weight of Roman Abramovich's chequebook behind him
as he looks to overhaul his Chelsea squad with some of the best young talent
in Europe.
It is expected the likes of Willian, Pedro and Olivier Giroud will be moving
elsewhere once the transfer window opens, paving the way for some new and
exciting attacking players. Chelsea have already signed Hakim Ziyech from
Ajax and in-demand forward Werner, who had many of his own records broken by
his fellow Germany international.
With some impressive youngsters breaking into the team this season, coupled
with some equally as talented signings, Havertz wants a move to Chelsea to
play under Lampard and be part of the new squad the manager is building.
Should Havertz join, the newly-singed trio would add an incredible depth to
Lampard's attacking options. Havertz alone has great versatility - he can
play in most positions across the forward line - and it would give Chelsea
different attacking options when needed without having to use a
substitution. However, current forward-thinking players could find their
playing time limited, such as Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Sky Germany also reported in April Havertz favoured a move to Bayern Munich,
a path many of his compatriots have taken before him. La Liga heavyweights
Real Madrid and Barcelona have also been interested, but none of the three
clubs are willing to meet the £90m asking price.
However, Bayern Munich sporting director Simon Rolfe recently told Marca
Havertz's final destination is far from decided.
"We don't know yet what will happen to Kai. We know that all the greats from
Germany and Europe are after him and that he has the ability to play
anywhere," he said. "He is a fantastic player and, for many years, Bayern
has always been behind the young talents of Germany. But we have to wait,
there are many factors that can have an influence. His future is not yet
decided at all."
Once again, Liverpool have been linked with the Bundesliga's best young
talent - there was plenty of speculation around a move for Werner - while
Manchester United are also said to be interested in Havertz but are focusing
on a deal for Jadon Sancho.
Hamann believes Havertz would suit a Premier League move, telling The
Football Show: "A lot of Premier League clubs will be interested in Havertz,
he's a terrific player and there's not many better around at the moment.
"If you look at Manchester United, it's very clear they need new personnel
going forward, and I think he'd improve pretty much every team. Liverpool
are a bit different with the way they set-up and play, but besides that he
improves every team.
"Before the break people were talking about three figures, a hundred-odd
million, if that's a price any club is prepared to pay in the summer, I'm
not sure, but the likelihood is he will leave Leverkusen and take on another
challenge in the summer."
So is the hype real? Absolutely, and the challenge now for Havertz is to
prove he can step up to another level and replicate his sensational talent
elsewhere.
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