REAL MADRID reportedly had a £71million transfer bid for Kai Havertz rejected by Bayer Leverkusen.
But it is understood Los Blancos remain desperate to land the German, 20, who is the subject of plenty of interest.
Real Madrid made a bid of around £71m for Kai Havertz with the offer of loaning him back to Bayer Leverkusen for next season but were turned down
According to Bild, the LaLiga giants tried to sweeten the deal by offering to loan Havertz back to his current club for the 2020/21 season.
It was thought the deal could work for both sides.
Zinedine Zidane would secure one of the hottest young talents in Europe and the Germans would be able to reinvest the cash this summer when transfer fees are likely to be lower.
However, the reported initial fee of £71m was not enough to convince Leverkusen to sell up.
The Bundesliga side, still in the hunt for a Champions League spot, are determined to hold out for around £90m for their academy graduate.
Madrid are unsurprisingly keen to get a deal done as soon as possible for the creative star who is enjoying a stunning season in front of goal, becoming the first player to score 35 Bundesliga goals before turning 21.
Bayern Munich want to make a move, knowing full well that waiting until 2021 could be too late.
Ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga clash between Bayern and Bayer, Munich’s boss Hansi Flick admitted any coach would love to have Havertz.
He said: “I think very few coaches wouldn’t want to have Kai Havertz in their team. I’ve known him since the U17s (Germany national team). He has developed enormously well at Leverkusen.
“He moves very well between the lines and has strong instinct to score goals at a young age.”
But as revealed by SunSport, a host of Premier League sides are also keeping tabs on the German, who is under contract until 2022.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester made their interest known before Manchester City also joined the race.
Pep Guardiola is understood to be very keen on Havertz, who can operate as a playmaker, support striker or No9 – ideal in the City system especially with David Silva and eventually Sergio Aguero needing replacing.
Kai Havertz shows off his footie skills with a piece of chewing gum
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
