Chelsea: Pundits discuss ‘showdown’ over Kai Havertz transfer
Manchester United reportedly held discreet transfer talks with Kai Havertz at the start of the year but the Red Devils do not appear to be in the running for his signature. Chelsea are hot favourites to land the attacking midfielder, who is said to have an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen that he can leave this summer.
Havertz's rise to prominence sees him widely recognised as one of the best young prospects in world football, with huge experience already under his belt.
Now the 21-year-old is keen on a new challenge and has set his sights on a switch to the Premier League.
The Blues are prepared to welcome him with open arms and have been talking to Leverkusen for several weeks to try and negotiate a deal.
The process was being held up by both clubs' European venture in Germany in the Champions League and Europa League respectively but both sides were eliminated in the past week.
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Chelsea are prepared to pay around £70million for Havertz while Leverkusen want £90m.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claims Havertz is pushing hard for west London and is already in total agreement over his contract.
"It's so similar to the [Jadon] Sancho situation, because the player has a total agreement with the club," he told the Beautiful Game Podcast.
"The player wants to leave and in the case of Havertz, the player is determined to leave the club this summer.
Man Utd are said to have spoken with Kai Havertz in January (Image: GETTY)
"He wants another option because Bayer Leverkusen is different to Borussia Dortmund, so you can understand why a player like Kai Havertz wants to join a Premier League club.
"Chelsea are speaking with Bayer Leverkusen to find an agreement, at the moment there is no agreement but the price they're going to offer Bayer Leverkusen is around €80million.
"At the moment there is no agreement but also like the Sancho deal for the instalments and add-ons, they're speaking.
"Bayer Leverkusen are also playing in Europe so they need time to finalise this agreement but I think it's possible that the deal will be complete on next weeks because the player really wants to join Chelsea, he's pushing to join Chelsea.
"He's the main target for Chelsea this summer after Timo Werner."
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