Chelsea leading Man Utd in race to sign £90m star – reports

Chelsea are leading Manchester United and Real Madrid in the race to sign £90m-rated Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz this summer, according to reports via the Express.

Havertz came through the youth ranks at Leverkusen and has developed into one of the most exciting young footballers in Europe since breaking into the first team set-up back in 2016 – when he became the youngest player to play in the Bundesliga aged just 16.

The 21-year-old has now amassed 44 goals and 31 assists in his 146 appearances with 16 of those goals coming this season so it’s no surprise the youngster has been attracting attention from some of Europe’s most powerful clubs.

It looks like the German international could be heading to England as the Express are citing Italian journalist Nicolo Schira as claiming that Chelsea are leading Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the race to sign Havertz.

Schira said on Twitter:

“Chelsea still in the front row for Kai Havertz and continue to court him,”

“Also Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Real Madrid are really interested in him, but Blues at the moment lead the race.”

The Blues have already been busy in the window with deals in place to sign Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and Timo Werner from RB Leipzig so it appears Frank Lampard is pushing to secure his third signing in Havertz.

It would be a major coup if the west Londoners could pull it off but there is still plenty of time for the likes of Man Utd to step-up their interest and snatch Havertz from under Chelsea’s nose.

Ole Gunner Solskjaer is expected to be active in the market this summer as he looks to build a squad capable of competing for major honours next season and Havertz would certainly be an exciting addition if United could win the race for his signature.

The youngster has two years left on his contract and is showing no sign he’s going to sign an extension so Leverkusen are being tipped to cash in with the Express suggesting they will sell if at least £90m is put on the table.

However, the newspaper says that figure could drop to around £70m if the German outfit fail to qualify for the Champions league. Leverkusen currently sit two points behind fourth-placed Borussia Monchengladbach with one game remaining so Chelsea and United will hope they miss out so they can bag Havertz at a knock-down price.

The youngster is predominantly an attacking central midfielder but he is also comfortable playing out wide or off the striker so he’d give Lampard or Solskjaer a versatile option in the final third if either club manages to get a deal agreed.