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"The Athletic" latest article about havertz signing (thread) -
1.The best things come to those who wait and the mood at Chelsea is one of jubilation right now after securing the signing of Germany’s best young talent in Kai Havertz.
1.The best things come to those who wait and the mood at Chelsea is one of jubilation right now after securing the signing of Germany’s best young talent in Kai Havertz.
2.All the biggest clubs in the world have cast more than an admiring glance or two in Havertz’s direction, but he will be playing at Stamford Bridge this season. No wonder coach Frank Lampard had a big smile on his face in the customary unveiling picture taken to celebrate it
3. Owner Roman Abramovich will be pleased too — he is thought to have been particularly keen for this rising star to be bought.
It has not been an easy deal to do, it was never going to be.
It has not been an easy deal to do, it was never going to be.
4.However anyone under the impression this is a saga which has stretched out over just a few summer months are underestimating just how much effort it required to lure the 21-year-old to west London.
5.The story begins as Chelsea were preparing for FIFA’s transfer ban to become a reality over a year ago. A two-window embargo was in place — later reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to one — and the club got busy making big plans for what they would do once ban ends.
6.Whatever the 2019-20 campaign would bring, Chelsea were going to make amends for their inability to spend by making ambitious moves for some of the finest players in the game.Havertz had already been watched on numerous occasions.
7.Head of international scouting Scott McLachlan, who is a man of great influence, championed the youngster to the hierarchy from a very early stage.A Chelsea source tells The Athletic: “He is a player the club have followed for many years and have made a huge amount of reports
7.They did the same with Timo Werner (who signed in June), but this was even more extensive than that.”As revealed in June, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Manchester United all reached out to the player’s representatives over past few months.
8. to gauge whether they could be at the front of the queue whenever Havertz decided to leave Bayer Leverkusen.Chelsea knew they had to do the same and it is understood conversations were initiated around late April/early May 2019, It was clear club had an ambitious project.
9.that they would be spending very heavily once acquisitions could be made again and Havertz was very much in their thoughts. There has been some form of contact between the two camps ever since.
Still it has taken a combination of a lot of work, skill and luck to make the move.
Still it has taken a combination of a lot of work, skill and luck to make the move.
9. Put it this way, Havertz didn’t exactly have Chelsea at the top of the list at the beginning.Bayer Leverkusen’s £107.6 million asking price in the summer of 2019 was sufficient to scare any other suitor off, even Bayern Munich who had gone into great detail with the German.
10.over where he would fit into their team and tactical shape.
Surprisingly Bayern never ended up making an official offer for Havertz this year either, preferring to spend £40.9 million on Manchester City’s Leroy Sane instead.
Surprisingly Bayern never ended up making an official offer for Havertz this year either, preferring to spend £40.9 million on Manchester City’s Leroy Sane instead.
11. In fairness, Thomas Muller’s renaissance on the way to helping them win the treble of the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup played a part in their reluctance too.
However, one leading Bundesliga official thinks Bayern have been guilty of short-termism,
However, one leading Bundesliga official thinks Bayern have been guilty of short-termism,
12.putting their need for a left winger in Sane over the more strategic benefit of signing the best young German player of his generation. “Kai is the one,” he insists.Manchester United also gave a noteworthy presentation of their own last year, but it didn’t go any further.
13. Perhaps because they made a move for Bruno Fernandes in January and then focused on a different Bundesliga starlet in Jadon Sancho. It is believed Real Madrid were Havertz’s preferred destination for a long period though.
14. The glamour of the Bernabeu is hard to ignore for many and one of his idols, Toni Kroos, is a part of their squad. Even when Chelsea began stepping up their efforts earlier this year there was a suspicion he was waiting for the La Liga club to make a move.
15. So how did Chelsea emerge victorious? The heavy impact on football finances caused by COVID-19 certainly played a part and the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern hoped Havertz might stay at Bayer Leverkusen another season and put something in place to join them the next year.
16. But Havertz felt the time had come to leave Bayer now, especially after they failed to qualify for the Champions League and he was not prepared to wait. As far as he was concerned, he had outgrown the team and needed another challenge.
17. Besides, with two years remaining on his contract, Bayer Leverkusen weren’t willing to run the risk of his valuation decreasing themselves. It’s fair to say the timing couldn’t have gone any better for Chelsea, who still had sizeable funds in place.
18. But it would be wrong to suggest Havertz has merely settled for a move there because they ended up being the only ones in a position to make a bid right now.
19. As one source explains to The Athletic: “Chelsea went from being just an option to Kai, to being something very desirable.” Meeting Bayer Leverkusen’s €100 million asking price was always going to be difficult and it is understood that in June,
20. Chelsea’s director and main negotiator Marina Granovskaia felt the two clubs were a long way from finding an accord.
But importantly, the club sent a significant message to Havertz by signing fellow Germany international Timo Werner from RB Leipzig for £47 million.
But importantly, the club sent a significant message to Havertz by signing fellow Germany international Timo Werner from RB Leipzig for £47 million.
21. With the signature of Hakim Ziyech being sealed in February too, it showed Chelsea were living up to their word about being very ambitious. Then Lampard got on the phone.Lampard is proving to be Chelsea’s ace in the pack in the market.
22.His powers of persuasion were used to good effect with both Ziyech and Werner. Now Havertz’s name can be added to the list.He reached out towards the end of the Bundesliga season and made a very strong impression from the outset.
23. It is believed Chelsea’s head coach came across as very gutsy as he laid out his vision of attacking football with young players at the fore. Lampard explained how he was in the process of building a new team and Havertz was going to be one of the lynchpins.
24. There was a feeling of freshness, a club with a growing momentum, something Havertz wanted to be a part of. Indeed, he was full of excitement as the conversation came to an end. He was convinced Chelsea were going to be a lot of fun .
25. In contrast to the ageing squads and disarray of Real Madrid and Barcelona, Chelsea actually came across as the more enticing adventure at this stage of Havertz’s career. As an insider adds: “I think Kai was just super impressed with Marina,
26. the way Chelsea were stepping on the gas and really going for it. The stature of the Premier League helped too. While it would be great to succeed with Bayern or Real Madrid, winning the title with Chelsea is seen as a bigger thing because it is so hard to do"
27. No wonder Lampard sounded so enthusiastic. Chelsea may have made their intentions clear to acquire Havertz before he took charge last season, but insiders suggest he didn’t need much convincing to get behind the approach given this is an individual,
28. who can score goals and play in various attacking positions.He complained on a regular basis about his side not being clinical enough during the last 12 months and the possibility of adding Havertz to Werner was perceived as too good an opportunity to ignore.
29. Hope is high that those goalscoring problems will now be a thing of the past.
Chelsea’s German international defender Antonio Rudiger also got in touch to highlight the merits of the club, but his role is not seen as being too much of a factor. At the end of July,
Chelsea’s German international defender Antonio Rudiger also got in touch to highlight the merits of the club, but his role is not seen as being too much of a factor. At the end of July,
30. Havertz made up his mind for good and Chelsea were assured his desire was to join them but the player understood that it would take some time for the clubs to find an agreement.There have been many suggestions over the timescale ever since that a deal was “done”,
31. but things were only finalised between all parties a few days ago.
An indication of that is the fact Havertz joined up with the Germany squad for their internationals against Spain and Switzerland.
An indication of that is the fact Havertz joined up with the Germany squad for their internationals against Spain and Switzerland.
32. At the start of the week, agreements still weren’t in place and he wasn’t going to run the risk of missing out on games with the national side just because something may be concluded.
Germany agreed to take good care of him though,
Germany agreed to take good care of him though,
33.which is why he ended up watching the Spain fixture on Thursday night from the bench. He was then released from duty to fly to London on Friday for a medical — notably attending Germany’s next game in Switzerland would have meant 14 days of self-isolation for Havertz in UK
34.Negotiations over the final fee have certainly been protracted. A breakthrough of sorts was made in the past three weeks when Granovskaia met with Leverkusen officials in the south of France for discussions.
35. Leverkusen were aware Granovskaia had a reputation for being very charming, but they were determined not to fall for it and that it wasn’t going to help Chelsea’s case to lower the €100 million fee. The Bundesliga club’s chief executive Fernando Carro is a tough negotiator
36. Granovskaia is no easy touch either so this is why it has taken until now for the transfer to be arranged. It’s been described to The Athletic as “super tough negotiations over every inch”.
Both sides are claiming victory.
Both sides are claiming victory.
37. On one hand we have been told Chelsea will pay an initial figure of over £62 million plus add-ons. On the other, Bayer Leverkusen, who won’t reveal the structure of the deal, are confident they have things in place to ensure they receive the full asking price in time.
38. So what exactly are Chelsea getting for their money? Inevitably there will be a lot of expectations on his shoulders. Havertz is aware of that and the prospect it could take a period to adapt to a new club, league and country. He is close to Werner though ,so it will help.
39. As far as making a statement in the market goes, this is similar to when Chelsea beat a host of clubs to sign Eden Hazard in 2012. Havertz is joining at the same age as the Belgian and has enormous potential.
40. If he goes on to have anything like the impact Hazard had on Chelsea, then it really will be money well spent.
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