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Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen remain far apart in their valuation of midfielder Kai Havertz.
The German international is a top target for Frank Lampard this summer, and he has indicated his willingness to switch to the Premier League, having agreed personal terms with them.
However, there is still a big gap between what Chelsea want to pay, and what Leverkusen are prepared to accept.
The latest offer from Chelsea is £59 million plus £13 million in various add-ons, whilst the German side are holding out for £90 million (€100 million).
The Stamford Bridge club are wary of spending too much on Havertz as they want to keep some money back to improve their defence, their Achilles heel last season with 54 league goals conceded. They remain linked with moves for Leicester’s Ben Chilwell, and Declan Rice of West Ham, but there has not been much progress on either deal recently.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.