Havertz asks to leave Leverkusen amid Chelsea interest
Leverkusen are preparing for life without Kai Havertz after the player requested to leave the club this summer should a transfer fee be agreed, reports Bild.
Over the past few months, the 21-year-old has been in dazzling form in the Bundesliga, scoring enough to take him to 12 goals for the campaign overall, while he has also contributed six assists.
The upturn in form, particularly after the league restarted, catalysed transfer speculation with Chelsea the most eager suitors for his services.
Having been under a transfer ban last season, Chelsea have saved enough money to splash the cash for the 2020/21 campaign, with Hakim Ziyech of Ajax and Timo Werner of RB Leipzig having already arrived for an outlay of around €92m.
They are aiming to add to their already impressive forward line with the addition of Havertz though, who would compete for playing time against Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudon-Odoi, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Olivier Giroud, as well as the aforementioned Ziyech and Werner.
There are naturally other teams interested in signing Havertz such as Bayern and Real Madrid, but they would have to sell in order to afford such a price tag. The German champions could be in a position put a deal together should they offload Thiago and David Alaba, who have both been rumoured to leave this summer.
One potential stumbling block on any move to Chelsea is that Havertz wants to play in the Champions League after missing out on qualification with Leverkusen this year. However, Frank Lampard’s side recently moved up to third after defeating Crystal Palace.