Bayer Leverkusen director reveals Kai Havertz’ desire to ‘take the next step’

Teams are lining up for the green flag to drop on the race for Kai Havertz. It’s unclear who may be in pole position in this transfer Grand Prix — some say it’s Bayern Munich, some say it isn’t — but Chelsea certainly appear to be in the field, which probably isn’t all that big to begin with. In addition to the Blues and Bayern, only Real Madrid and Manchester United have been linked with any conviction.

It may also be too early to pick favorites, even if Bayern would surely be the consensus pick under normal circumstances. Chelsea are said to be going “all out” for a player who may yet become the eleventh player in history to command €100m in the transfer market, despite the pandemic.

And that would certainly be useful for Bayer, who claimed to be in “good position” even though Havertz only has two years left on his contract — either by keeping a hold of him for another year, or by cashing in big time. But even as sporting director Rudi Völler had recently hinted at a real possibility of Kai staying, that’s not really the likely outcome according to the club’s managing director, Fernando Carro.

“I see that many clubs are interested in him. Kai has been with us for ten years. I see the player’s wish to take the next step sometime in the near future

“You have to try to find a solution where the player’s goal can be reconciled with ours. At the moment nobody can say for sure what will happen.”

-Fernando Carro; source: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger via Sport Bild and Google Translate

So, the field is set, the wallets are fueled. Will we be the Ayrton Senna or the Andrea de Cesaris of this race?