Kai Havertz to Chelsea: Marina Granovskaia’s fresh transfer trick, bid submitted
Chelsea remain in talks over the signing of Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz, with the fee thought to be the sticking point
On an evening where the Germans strode comfortably into the Europa League quarter-finals, via Moussa Diaby’s solitary second-half strike, the Chelsea target was heavily involved in every notable opportunity in the first-half, operating in a broadly free role on the right.
But tonight, in a match with a distinct pre-season feel to it – Leverkusen have just finished their season whilst Rangers have just started their new campaign – the 21-year-old picked his moments to come alive.
Positioned wide-right in an attacking trio behind central striker Kevin Volland, his first-half consisted mostly of neat first-time lay-offs for his team-mates and naturally cutting in on his left-foot with his back to goal.
The final third was where Havertz selectively expanded his energy, with a burst of acceleration often taking Rangers’ back-line by surprise. Nimble and agile, his close control of the ball in tight spaces meant he very rarely lost possession throughout the course of the evening.
All that was missing, significantly, was the finishing touch. An ambitious whistling volley caught the woodwork early on, yet two one-on-one situations either side of half-time failed to result in a goal: one skewed wide, one straight at Gers keeper Allan McGregor. Both on his favoured left-foot – and both should have been converted.
The Bundesliga season reached its conclusion on Saturday afternoon and Bayer Leverkusen completed the campaign with a 1-0 home win over Mainz, with Kevin Volland netting the only goal after just two minutes.
Despite concluding the season with a three-point haul, Leverkusen, as a result of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s win over Hertha Berlin, missed out on securing Champions League football by two points.
That means that Leverkusen, according to a reports, could now be willing to let the midfielder go for a fee nearer to £70million, opposed to the £90million price tag they would have demanded had they secured a top-four finish.
This is good news for Chelsea as they are understood to be happy to spend around £70million on attempting to lure him to Stamford Bridge
Source: Football London