Chelsea
are making progress in talks to sign Kai Havertz and all parties are hopeful
a deal can be agreed. Here, we look at the deal from the three different
points of view - Chelsea, Bayer Leverkusen, and the player and his
representatives...
The view from… Chelsea
As is so often the case, negotiations are being held up by disagreements
over price and payment structure. When it comes to the player, personal
terms will not be a problem for Chelsea - they rarely are for big clubs when
it comes to big deals.
The Blues are offering a deal worth a total of £70m, whereas Leverkusen
value Havertz at £90m. Chelsea's negotiations are being handled as always by
Marina Granovskaia, who effectively runs the club on behalf of the owner
Roman Abramovich.
Granovskaia is known as the "Iron Lady" in the German media and she has a
reputation there as a very tough negotiator who always protects the
interests of her club.
Petr Cech also now plays a big role in transfers having returned to Chelsea
as the technical and performance adviser last summer. After the problems
behind the scenes with previous managers such as Antonio Conte and Maurizio
Sarri, Cech now acts as a bridge between the people who run the club and the
people who run the team.
Frank Lampard is close to Cech and he made it clear during last season that
he needed to make big changes to his squad. Chelsea have already backed him
by signing Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, and more players are on the way.
The departures of Willian and Pedro will mean Chelsea will have a new-look
forward line next season. On paper Havertz, Werner and Ziyech looks like a
world-class front three which could re-establish Chelsea as genuine title
contenders.
Clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona also wanted to sign Havertz but at the
moment Chelsea are the only club who are in talks with Leverkusen. The
impact the pandemic has had on club finances means Chelsea - thanks to
Abramovich's backing - can outbid their rivals for the best players in the
world this summer.
Chelsea and Leverkusen remain about £20m apart on their valuation of Havertz
and talks are continuing to try to bridge the gap. That is the only thing
that is holding up the deal. You could argue that even if Chelsea do pay the
full £90m asking price, they will getting a good deal. Havertz is only 21
and if he keeps developing the way he has been he could be worth a lot more
in the future.
Last season a transfer ban meant Lampard had to give youth a chance and rely
on the players he inherited for his first season as Chelsea manager. Now he
has the chance to build his own side in his own image, and Lampard wants the
deal for Havertz tied up as soon as possible.
The view from… Bayer Leverkusen
Rudi Voller was an exceptional striker and he is turning out to be a pretty
good salesman too. The former Germany forward is the Leverkusen managing
director and he has been doing a good job of talking up his club's most
valuable asset.
According to Voller, Havertz is Leverkusen's best ever player, which is a
pretty bold claim considering the likes of Michael Ballack, Toni Kroos,
Bernd Schuster and Voller himself have all played for the club.
To be fair to Leverkusen, they have been consistent all along as far as
Havertz is considered. They know he has only two years left on his contract
and they have made it clear that they will let him go as long as they
receive their £90m.
That is an important number for Leverkusen because it converts to €100m -
and that is the price they set for all interested clubs. But failing to
qualify for the Champions League will have a big impact on Leverkusen's
finances next season, and that could give Chelsea a bit more room for
manoeuvre when it comes to negotiating the payment structure.
Leverkusen have let it be known that there is no question either of Chelsea
getting a so-called "corona discount". Prices may have dropped in the market
because of the coronavirus pandemic but Leverkusen are not willing to factor
that into the negotiations even though the bidding war they had hoped for
has failed to materialise.
So they are trying to hold out for €100m but, realistically, Chelsea know
they are the only serious bidders at the moment. A compromise deal could be
on the cards whereby, with bonuses and add-ons, Leverkusen can claim to have
got their asking price while Chelsea will be paying significantly less to
begin with at least.
Ideally Leverkusen would like Havertz's future to be sorted out before their
players are due to report back for pre-season training at the end of the
month but Sky Sports News has been told that is not a deadline set in stone.
Leverkusen would not be in a position to turn down big offers for Havertz if
they arrived later in the window. They have accepted that Havertz will leave
this summer, and now they want to make sure they get what they think he is
worth.
Kai Havertz will move to Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen following the
conclusion of the German club's Europa League campaign, according to Kaveh
Solhekol
The view from… Kai Havertz
Havertz himself wants to play for Lampard and Chelsea. He has always dreamed
about playing in the Premier League and he wants his dream to come true as
soon as possible.
One source has told Sky Sports News that the player actually wants to move
to Chelsea even more than they want him. When you consider that he is
Chelsea's number one target at the moment, that demonstrates how much he
wants to play at Stamford Bridge.
He will become one of the highest-paid players at Chelsea if the move goes
through and he feels he has the character and ability to make his mark in
English football.
There was never any question of Havertz agitating for a move earlier this
summer, not even in June when he watched his Germany team-mate Timo Werner
sign for Chelsea in a £53m deal. Havertz knew how much the Europa League
meant to Leverkusen because they could have qualified for the Champions
League if they had won it.
Once they were knocked out of the competition by Inter Milan earlier this
month, his thoughts turned back to Chelsea. After 10 years at Leverkusen, it
is time for a new start.
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