MANCHESTER UNITED and Chelsea are reportedly among seven of Europe’s biggest clubs that are chasing Bayer Leverkusen wonderkid Kai Havertz.
Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also chasing the prodiogious 20-year-old’s signature – as well as Premier League rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
Havertz has already made 121 appearances for Leverkusen at the age of 20Credit: Getty – Contributor
This could be the German international’s last season at the BayArena, having been courted by Europe’s elite since his teenage years.
And while Bayern Munich would likely be at the head of the queue, Bild claim that the Bavarians will have a tough battle on their hands to land their target.
Havertz is hot property, having come third in the prestigious Golden Boy award.
The gong recognises Europe’s best player under the age of 21.
Previous winners include the likes of Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
And Havertz was only beaten to the prize by Atletico Madrid’s £113million man Joao Felix, and runner-up Jadon Sancho.
Havertz broke into the Leverkusen first-team as a 17-year-old back in October 2016.
And he quickly became a key man – and has now accumulated seven caps for Germany.
Manchester United chiefs could view Havertz as the ideal replacement for Paul Pogba, should the Frenchman manage to force a move away from Old Trafford.
Meanwhile Chelsea could look to bolster their midfield in January, should their transfer ban be lifted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The sought-after Havertz recently told Marca: “They’re probably the biggest club in Germany and there are many players that were very successful at a young age that went there.
“Therefore I get linked with Bayern but we’ll see what happens.
“There are players that want to stay close to their family and others say, ‘I want to live in another country’.
“There’s something clear. If you want to be a star in Germany, you can’t go wrong with Bayern.
“I think I’ve picked up enough international experience at Leverkusen.
“I know the rhythm of these international matches and I’m confident I can go abroad at any moment and play at clubs outside of Germany.
“For the moment I want to have a good season. Afterwards, we’ll see.
“Barcelona? They have a lot of the ball but there are lots of teams that do that these days, not only Barcelona.
“Real Madrid are a team that have a lot of possession, although they’ve been a bit less efficient than Barcelona in recent years.
“There are many players that inspired me like Kaka, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho. They’ve always been my idols.
“Between the Spanish players, my favourite is Andreas Iniesta. He’s outstanding on the ball. Unique. I like him the most.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk