🇩🇪 Kai Havertz

[Jase 43,479]

18 minutes ago, Artandur said:

https://theathletic.com/2044050/2020/09/05/havertz-transfer-mclachlan-marina-phone-call-lampard-real-madrid/

Can anyone post the full article?

@Vesper is the person for it. 

But I have picked out the key info of the article above. There are also some bits on Havertz's stats and how he will fit in but nothing too extensive. 

[Vesper 30,519]

How Chelsea signed Kai Havertz: Years of planning and Lampard’s ‘gutsy’ call

https://theathletic.com/2044050/2020/09/05/havertz-transfer-mclachlan-marina-phone-call-lampard-real-madrid/

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.

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 the club’s new acquisition. 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. 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.

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 the punishment was over.

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. 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 on. 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 at one time or another over the previous 18 months 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 made very clear the club had an ambitious project in mind, 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 switch happen. 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 Germany international 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. 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, 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. 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. 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.

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 following year.

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. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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, 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.”

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 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. 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, 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” 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. 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, 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 on arrival to the UK because the country is on the government’s quarantine list. Havertz’s international and club team-mates Rudiger and Werner will not have to quarantine upon their return to England because they were already UK-based and are football professionals inside a bubble.

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.

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 as well and his background outside of football means he also has an eye for the numbers.

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. 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.

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 Chelsea hope that will help.

As far as what he can do on a pitch, this is a player who is creating and converting shooting chances at a consistently elite level. Havertz’s 12 league goals for Leverkusen in the 2019-20 season fell short of his career-best Bundesliga tally of 17 in 2018-19, but it was actually the most efficient scoring season of his career; he found the net from 20.3 per cent of his overall shots and 46.2 per cent of his shots on target, despite the number of his shot attempts dipping from 2.8 to 2.2 per 90 minutes.

Despite registering only six assists in the league, Havertz also more than doubled his average of key passes played per 90 minutes from 1.1 to 2.3 and his shot-creating actions per 90 minutes rose from 3.4 to 4.3, seventh-best in the Bundesliga.

Lampard’s team particularly struggled to break down defensive opponents in open play last season and it is here that Havertz’s value could be felt most. His average of 3.55 completed live ball passes that lead to a shot attempt ranked fifth in the Bundesliga in 2019-20, behind only Thomas Muller, Philippe Coutinho, Jadon Sancho and Kingsley Coman. That figure also compares favourably to all of Chelsea’s attackers last season except Callum Hudson-Odoi, whose average of 3.65 is based on a relatively small sample size of 852 minutes played in the Premier League.

Havertz will also bring considerable positional versatility to Chelsea; he is capable of shining as a No 8, a No 10 or even as a false nine, the role he most often played for Leverkusen after the resumption of the Bundesliga season. Wherever he chooses to use him, Lampard will relish the challenge of maximising one of Europe’s most coveted young footballers as part of his formidable array of attacking options.

Inevitably some will question what effect his arrival will have on the Chelsea squad, particularly the academy graduates who got a lot of game-time under Lampard in his first season but may now fear being sidelined.

While that is inevitably a factor, there has been a lot of positive talk around the camp about Havertz and the other new acquisitions. There is an acceptance Chelsea are a big club and will always make signings. It is something they are used to because it happens at youth level as well. Players like Havertz are also seen as a good thing in terms of Chelsea being able to compete for trophies and will help them raise their game.

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.

If he goes on to have anything like the impact Hazard had on Chelsea, then it really will be money well spent.

[Nero 1,885]

 

[OhForAGreavsie 6,111]

10 hours ago, Jason said:

https://theathletic.com/2044050/2020/09/05/havertz-transfer-mclachlan-marina-phone-call-lampard-real-madrid/

Some inside info from The Athletic on our pursuit-purchase of Havertz...

 

Excellent reporting on an encouraging demonstration of the club's recruitment process.

[kellzfresh 7,229]

 

[NikkiCFC 8,459]

Nothing on his salary?

 

[kiwi1691 255]

48 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Nothing on his salary?

You do realise most of the salary info on players in the media is pure speculation. 

[kellzfresh 7,229]

 

[Blue Armour 4,557]

He's tall.

[1chelsea 864]

 

They all want him to fail but by the time he start tearing up mid field and scoring goals they will be killing their board and director for not going for Kai Havertz

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[ahmedou 212]

I had literally goosebumps when he said: COME ON YOU BLUES...

I hope it'll be his ad-lib from now on.

[NikkiCFC 8,459]

1 hour ago, ahmedou said:

I had literally goosebumps when he said: COME ON YOU BLUES...

I hope it'll be his ad-lib from now on.

He is so cute.

[milka 3,406]

 

[chelsea_4_eva 1,185]

I still cant believe this is in our Current Squad thread.

[Jase 43,479]

Raphael Honigstein on Havertz...

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/09/08/honigstein-on-havertz--what-drew-him-to-chelsea--why-his-versati

Honigstein, who is also a pundit on BT Sport’s Bundesliga coverage, explains why a move to Chelsea made sense for Havertz and the reasons he has drawn comparisons with both Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack. He starts, though, by considering how he might be deployed in this new-look Blues team…

‘The beauty of Havertz is you can play him in almost any position apart from defence,’ says Honigstein, who recently contributed to an Athletic article detailing the process behind his signing.

‘I don’t think he’s necessarily a no.6, but he’s definitely a player who can play centrally, both in a slightly deeper role or as a classic no.10. He can just as easily play on either wing, or as a false nine as he’s done quite a lot in recent months.

‘The options he provides, especially with the crazy amount of games Chelsea will have this season, are one of the key advantages of signing him. It might be he gets so good in one position the team has to adjust to him rather than the other way round, but in the meantime he will just increase the options. Whatever position and combination you want to play him in, you can be certain he will perform. For a manager, he is a dream player to have.

‘Personally I think there might be a slight difference between his deployment away from home and at home,’ adds Honigstein.

‘Away from home, you can easily play him on the wings, but at home he might be better in a central role because he’s so good at finding spaces between the lines. Against deep opposition, he can help solve this problem Chelsea have sometimes had at home when it comes to breaking down some of the more defensive sides they come up against.’

As well as his obvious creative ability, Havertz possesses a formidable goal record for someone so young. He has scored 38 times across the last two seasons for Bayer Leverkusen, drawing comparisons with his new boss, as well as a compatriot who also played for Leverkusen and Chelsea, and the chance to be guided by Lampard was clearly one of the key factors behind Havertz’s decision to move to Stamford Bridge.

‘Where Havertz is quite similar to Lampard is with the ability to arrive late in the box and score,’ says Honigstein.

‘That’s why some people in Germany have also compared him to Ballack, because Ballack also has this ability to join up with the attack, to find space on the edge of the box and score, sometimes with his head like Havertz does.

‘Those runs and that instinct for being in the right place at the right time, he’s already got it but I think it will only improve, because Lampard was the master in that. I’m sure he will pass his knowledge and his experience on to Havertz.

‘In a wider sense, it’s playing in a team that plays the type of football he wants to play, being surrounded by young players who are also growing and want to achieve things together – that was the big draw from what I understand. Players like Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi can potentially go to a different level once you add Havertz and Timo Werner to the mix.

‘It felt to me and many others he had outgrown this Bayer Leverkusen team. He was so clearly the best player, there wasn’t really much to gain from him being there much longer, and part of the reason for him to move is to be surrounded by players who can bring more out of him and help him develop.’

Away from the pitch, Honigstein believes Havertz’s personality will stand him in good stead when it comes to adapting to a new club in a new country, with his homeland now very interested to follow his and Werner’s progress in the Premier League.

‘Havertz is an incredibly grounded guy, very smart, very considerate. Education has been very important to him and his family. He famously missed a Champions League game because he had to sit an A-Level exam. He’s a guy who defines himself by what happens on the pitch. He’s a football player through and through, someone who is committed to his craft.

‘Leverkusen are not necessarily a high-profile club despite their success competing in the Champions League regularly. They don’t have a huge fanbase, so it’s been easier for Havertz to develop slightly in a bubble outside of the harsh media light he would have perhaps attracted at places like Dortmund or Bayern.

‘German people don’t know much about him as a personality, so it’s quite intriguing for them to see this guy becoming one of the most expensive Bundesliga players ever. All of a sudden, Chelsea have gone back to the days of Ballack where a lot of people in Germany will be super interested how they do, because it is a bit of a German team now with these two new young guys there.

‘I don’t really have any reservations about him being a success in the Premier League,’ concludes Honigstein.

‘You can never be 100 per cent sure with injuries and this kind of stuff, but anyone who has worked with him and knows him thinks this guy is the real deal, and has all the qualities and promise and talent to be not just a success, but one of the best players for Germany in the last couple of decades. That’s how highly people rate him.’

[Atomiswave 6,120]

 

[Nero 1,885]

He gives me Kaka vibes.

[Blues Forever 1,232]

 

[Pizy 19,014]

But 29 is so ugly. 😣

Makes him look like an academy player who was called up last minute after an emergency injury.