Bayer Leverkusen admitted that Kai Havertz has already set his sight on playing for Chelsea next season. On this, the Bundesliga side said business will be discussed with the buying club but the Germans made clear that only the full payment of Havertz' £90 million price tag will seal the deal.
According to Leverkusen chief Fernando Carro, Havertz's availability for transfer to any club will be governed by specific requirements, and foremost of which is that value of the player is met fully.
While Carro admitted that the 21-year-old had already made the formal transfer request, Leverkusen's position will remain firm - that a deal will be signed without a discount on the asking price.
"Kai has voiced his desire to make the next step. At the moment, I can't say whether this will work out in the near future or not," Metro reported the club CEO as saying.
His statement appeared to underscore Leverkusen's intention to hold out on the Havertz deal until Chelsea would be ready to pay upfront the cash demanded. The report added the Blues are hoping that Havertz's value will still go down given the playmaker has already stated his wish to campaign with Chelsea next season.
Chelsea winning a significant reduction on the money to be spent for the acquisition of Havertz will allow them to continue the build-up that manager Frank Lampard is implementing. The team already completed the signing of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech but Lampard has a few more recruitments to do.
The boss is looking to replace keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga and is reportedly in the process of finalizing the signings of Declan Rice and Ben Chilwell. After skipping two transfer windows due to a ban, the Blues are spending big in planned summer signings but a discount on the Havertz deal is certainly welcome.
Paying a huge amount though on the German playmaker is worth the trouble, according to Leverkusen manager Peter Bosz. The club boss did not want his star to switch sides next season and it is understandable - Havertz played games last season and he scored 18 goals.
Bosz said Stamford Bridge will be getting a top-quality player, who figured prominently in Leverkusen's excellent run both in Bundesliga and in Europe.
"If you see his movement, he's very elegant, he's always calm, he has great passing ability," The Sun reported the Dutch manager as saying.
Another plus for Havertz is his speed and Bosz said this quality is a huge bonus for teams that the youngster will be playing with.
