The Kai Havertz to Chelsea saga has taken another twist as the German midfielder has reportedly agreed a five-year contract with the Blues.
According to a report published by The Sun, Kai Havertz has agreed on the length of his contract with Chelsea, who have offered him a five-year deal starting this summer. However, the Blues will need to shell out £90 million to secure his services.
Havertz came through the Bayer Leverkusen academy and quickly registered his name in the history of the club and the league. In his first full season in the top flight, Havertz scored 4 goals and assisted 5 assists, all in 24 games, out of which only 15 were starts. However, that was enough to nail his position in the first-team setup, as he went on to make 22 starts the next season.
In 2018/19, the German sensation formed a tremendous partnership with compatriot Julian Brandt under Peter Bosz and scored 17 goals, setting up an additional three in 34 games. He was able to provide the team with a similar tally this season as well, scoring 12 and assisting six.
However, this season, Havertz has been used in a variety of positions across the pitch including defensive midfielder, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, left winger, right winger and even as a striker. He has managed to excel in each of the roles and became the highest scoring Bundesliga player ever before his 21st birthday with 35 goals. All that and more has put him on Chelsea’s radar.
The crown prince of German football had initially attracted suitors from across the continent, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, Chelsea and even Bayern Munich in on him. Unfortunately for most of those teams, the coronavirus pandemic-struck market meant reduced transfer budgets and limitations in the budget, consequently implying that they could not pursue Havertz further.
The one team that has not dropped off in this race is Frank Lampard’s Chelsea. While the Blues struggle massively with issues in defence, it does not make sense to miss out on the opportunity to sign a player like Havertz with virtually no competition. They might be the only team that will be able to pursue his humongous transfer fee courtesy of their FIFA imposed transfer ban.
The London outfit have already announced the arrivals of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech, but can afford to add more to their arsenal, despite Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi already being options for the Chelsea attack.
In fact, the report suggests that the young midfielder has already agreed a five-year deal with Chelsea. The only stumbling block for Chelsea, though, is that Bayer Leverkusen are not willing to shuttle from their asking price of £90 million, with sporting director Rudi Voller exclaiming that Havertz is the best he had ever seen at the club.
Getting a compromise from Bayer Leverkusen will be a tough task, especially if it means that Chelsea will have to let go of their defensive targets. However, it does not look like an either/or situation, and it will become an ever more intriguing transfer saga as it unfolds in the coming weeks, especially with Havertz eager to join Chelsea.
