Chelsea
are the favourites to sign Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen this summer,
but are not willing to pay the £90m asking price.
Havertz wants to leave Leverkusen and the German club are prepared to allow
his exit. The 21-year-old has only two years remaining on his contract and
Leverkusen have failed to qualify for next season's Champions League.
The Bundesliga side value Havertz at €100m (£90m) but his representatives
are hopeful a deal can be structured with bonus payments and add-ons that
would satisfy all parties.
Chelsea have already shown they are prepared to invest in the transfer
market this summer by signing Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech for next season.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich is willing to bankroll transfers this summer as
he believes there is more value in the market, with prices dropping because
of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chelsea's rivals may also struggle to compete in the market, with the
European Club Association estimating European clubs will lose more than £3.5
billion in revenue over the next year because of the pandemic.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich also want Havertz but they are not
in a position to pay Leverkusen's asking price without selling players.
Manchester United are also interested but their priority signing this summer
is Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.
'Havertz would improve any PL team'
Former Liverpool and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann...
"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."
top