Melissa Reddy has written in The Independent that Bayer Leverkusen have priced Kai Havertz at upwards of £80m – nearly double his market value from Liverpool’s perspective.
What’s the story?
The Reds have been regularly linked with the Germany international in the past few months, but there has been no official confirmation of any approach.
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According to Reddy, that is down to the price the Bundesliga outfit are looking for. It seems the two clubs are someway off, with the Anfield outfit only seeing him to be worth a figure closer to half of what his employers desire.
Don’t be bullied
Havertz is one of the most sought-after players on the planet – Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are just three of the other clubs said to be eyeing a move for the 20-year-old. This comes after a stunning previous campaign for the attacking midfielder – he scored 20 goals in all competitions for Die Werkself.
This term, he has not hit the same heights – he has just four goals and two assists to his name in the German top flight – but there is no doubting he is a supremely talented player. The question is, do Liverpool really need him?
The answer is no, not really.
For a start, Liverpool usually don’t play with an attacking midfielder – the 4-3-3 formation Jurgen Klopp often deploys includes two central midfielders and a more defensive one – and, although Havertz has regularly featured on the right flank, the former Borussia Dortmund boss already has Mohamed Salah in that role.
The Egypt international has proven himself to be one of the best players on the planet in previous campaigns, winning the Premier League Golden Boot twice in a row and finishing in the top six of the Ballon d’Or in the last two years. No matter how promising Havertz is, that is an output he will unlikely ever be able to match on a regular basis.
If Liverpool only value him at around £40m, then paying twice that price makes no sense. As they sit at the top of the footballing world right now, they must make sure they are not bullied into paying over-the-odds prices for their targets.
It could only take a couple of ill-advised moves to derail everything that has been built on Merseyside in the last few years.
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