Kai Havertz interested in joining Germany team-mates Timo Werner and Antonio Rudiger at ChelseaThe 21-year-old attacking midfielder has two years left on his contract with Leverkusen
By
Matt Law,
FOOTBALL NEWS CORRESPONDENT
Chelsea hope to take advantage of Kai Havertz’s desire to leave Bayer Leverkusen this summer together with the fact he only has two years remaining on his contract. It emerged in Germany on Wednesday morning that Havertz will tell Leverkusen that he wants to move in the forthcoming transfer window, which has provided Chelsea with a huge boost. Havertz is understood to be interested in joining his German international team-mates Timo Werner and Antonio Rudiger at Stamford Bridge. Bayern Munich had been interested in a deal to sign Havertz for next summer, while Real Madrid will need to sell a host of players to raise the funds to sign him.
That places Chelsea at the front of the queue for attacking midfielder Havertz, who is rated as a generational talent and could go on to become one of the world’s best players. The biggest obstacle for Chelsea to now get over is the difference between their valuation, thought to be around £70million, and the £90m Leverkusen have priced Havertz at. With some of Chelsea’s biggest rivals in the race for Havertz unable to immediately find the money to bid for him, the Blues are hopeful they will not become embroiled in an auction. And with Havertz seemingly making it clear that he will not extend his contract, they will also be mindful of the fact that Leverkusen may not be able to afford to let it run towards its final 12 months next summer.
Havertz still retains strong market value with two years remaining on his contract, but in 12 months’ time Leverkusen may be forced into accepting a much smaller fee. All of those details put Chelsea in a strong position, but there is still work to be done on getting to a position to add Havertz to the signings of Werner and Hakim Ziyech. Chelsea will also be helped by the fact they took another big step towards qualifying for next season’s Champions League with a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace. That result, coupled with Leicester City’s draw against Arsenal, moved Chelsea up to third place in the Premier League table with four games remaining.
Qualifying for the Champions League would boost head coach Frank Lampard’s transfer budget by around £50m. Leverkusen missed out on qualifying for Europe’s biggest competition.
Despite the anticipated Champions League windfall, Lampard will need to raise funds if he is to complete all the incoming business that he wants to this summer.
Other than Havertz, Lampard has prioritised signing a new left-back. Ben Chilwell remains his top target, but Chelsea are aware that Leicester City will hold out for a fee in the region of £70m. Lampard and Chelsea will also decide whether or not to make a move for a central defender and a goalkeeper, but both situations are likely to depend on whether anybody leaves. Chelsea would most likely want to make space for a new defender by selling one of their current centre-backs, while the future of Kepa Arrizabalaga may well dictate whether or not Lampard can sign a new goalkeeper.
Lampard has also not given up hope of Chelsea agreeing a new contract past the end of the current season with Willian. The Brazilian’s contract talks had stalled over his desire for a three-year extension, rather than an extra two years, but it is understood talks have since reopened.
Willian has been in superb form since the restart and Lampard does not want to risk losing him on a free transfer to either Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur.
It is believed Arsenal had put together a package to offer Willian before the coronavirus lockdown, but the financial impact of the pandemic may have altered that.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/07/08/kai-havertz-interested-joining-germany-team-mates-timo-werner/ [ 此帖被羅力亞在2020-09-05 10:08重新編輯 ]
