Chelsea finished off the Premier League season on the Top 4 of the table, allowing the club to clinch a spot on the Champions League next season. As a result, the Blues are tipped to complete the pending summer transfer deals with Bundesliga sensation Kai Havertz on top of Frank Lampard's list.
Reports said Havertz has agreed on personal terms to sign with Lampard and the latter's side seemed ready to pay the valuation imposed by Bayer Leverkusen on the 21-year-old star. Chelsea will be paying £75 million in cash for the German playmaker and there will be add-ons that will bring the total expenditure to £90 million.
Meeting the asking price for the player was only part of the hurdle for Chelsea. It was understood Havertz has set his sight on joining a new club that will compete in Europe's most prestigious competition. Good thing for the Blues, that part of Havertz's terms has been fulfilled.
Lampard acknowledged that earning a ticket in the Champions League next season will make it easier for his side to sign targeted talents. Star players, for instance, would be more willing to wear the Chelsea shirt with the possibility of becoming champions in Europe.
"We know that the economics of the Champions League are big. We know the prestige - top players want to play in the Champions League," Goal reported the Blues boss as saying.
Already, Lampard had arranged for Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech to make their jump to the Premier League next season but the manager is looking to secure the signature of more big names. Names like Ben Chilwell and Jan Oblak have been mentioned but it would seem that the arrival of Havertz to Stamford Bridge will more than complete the requirements set by Lampard.
The Leverkusen winger scored 17 goals in all competition in the campaign and that will combine with Werner's total of 36 in the same period. The numbers alone indicated that Chelsea's goalscoring next season will be something to watch for.
Meanwhile, it's no secret that Lampard had to fend off other suitors to win the attention of Havertz. The youngster was also on the radar of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and Manchester United, and the latter was thought to be in pole position to sign the Bundesliga star.
According to Metro, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discussed his intention to bring Havertz to Old Trafford but was overruled by the club board. It was felt that the player's price tag was too high and the decision was made to wait for the value to go down.
As things turned out, the Red Devils' hesitation played in favor of Chelsea, which met most of the terms stipulated by Leverkusen for Havertz. Now, Lampard can only hope that his expensive signings will live to great expectations.
