Chelsea ‘nearing’ huge summer signing as they prepare to pay £73m
Chelsea are the only side prepared to pay Bayer Leverkusen’s asking price as they close in on a deal for Kai Havertz, according to reports.
The Blues have been heavily linked with the German as they look to follow up the capture of RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner with a deal for one of his international team-mates.
Just last week German football expert Rafa Honigstein claimed that reports of the Blues ‘leading the race’ for the Bayer Leverkusen star were wide of the mark, writing in The Athletic that a Chelsea source insisted ‘the Premier League club, Leverkusen and Havertz are currently “miles apart” in terms of striking a potential deal’.
GOSSIP: Liverpool and Man United want £40.9m left-back; Sancho latest
Fast forward five days and The Athletic journalist David Ornstein claims Chelsea are ‘closing in on the signing of’ Havertz with the Blues ‘the only club ready to pay what it will take to secure him’.
Not only have Chelsea agreed to paying the asking price but Ornstein has also heard that they are ‘nearing an agreement on the proposed personal terms’.
Havertz ‘now wants his future to be settled swiftly’ but Chelsea hold an ‘advantageous position’ as the only side willing to make an acceptable offer.
Sources have told Ornstein that the fee is likely to be around €80m (£73m) with €65m (£60m) or €70m (£64m) paid up front with further add-ons to make up the rest of the price.
Havertz’s wage demands are understood to be reasonable and ‘does not present a problem’ to Chelsea as it is ‘merely final details that would need to be sorted’.
