Havertz wants to leave Leverkusen and the German club are prepared to allow his exit
Wednesday 8 July 2020 15:36, UK
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.
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."
