Kai Havertz is likely to lead the line for Chelsea as they square off against Real Madrid in the Champions League for the second consecutive season, knowing just how close he once came to joining the La Liga giants instead.
Chelsea pulled off a coup when they agreed a £72million deal to sign Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen in September 2020. The Blues had beaten Real, along with Barcelona, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, to secure the highly-rated German’s signature. But it could have all been very different had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic.
Havertz had made it clear that he was keen to make the next step up in his career after outgrowing Leverkusen, with 16 goals in the Bundesliga in 2019-20. According to Goal, Madrid had engaged in talks with the German outfit over a deal to sign the attacking midfielder and Havertz was keen on a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
