Kai Havertz is moving from Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen to Chelsea. The Premier League club and Bayer announced this in the evening. Havertz signed a five-year deal in Chelsea.
According to English media reports, Leverkusen will receive around 80 million euros in transfer fees for the 21-year-old, others report 70 million euros. In addition, there are bonus payments, which can increase the sum. Originally, Bayer apparently asked for a € 100 million transfer fee.
The offensive player, who is considered to be one of the greatest talents in football, left the national team early on Friday to take the 2012 Champions League winners’ medical check. Havertz replaces his future teammate and national team colleague Timo Werner as the most expensive German footballer after just a few weeks. Werner moved from RB Leipzig to Chelsea at the beginning of July thanks to a release clause for 53 million euros. Havertz is not a Bundesliga record player. The transfer from Ousmane Dembélé to FC Barcelona brought Borussia Dortmund around 135 million euros three years ago.
“I’ve been here for so long and have experienced wonderful things with so many people. You don’t just change that by swapping shirts,” said Havertz. “Kai played for us for ten years, four of them in our licensed team. During this time he became a national player for us and has already achieved outstanding results despite his youth,” said Bayer’s sports director Rudi Völler. Havertz is “already world class, certainly one of the best who have ever played for Bayer.”
Havertz scored 46 goals and made 31 assists in 150 games for Leverkusen. Read more about his unusual tactic profile here.
