The English Premier League side Chelsea today confirmed the signing of the 21-year-old German midfielder Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen, joining for a reported €100 million including bonuses.
Havertz was in Stuttgart with Germany’s squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures, having been an unused substitute as they drew 1-1 with Spain on Thursday night.
Kai Havertz was giving permission to leave the Germany camp to finalize the deal with Chelsea, he had already done his medical on Sunday in London before joining the Germany squad for the UEFA Nations League games.
Havertz said. “For me it is a dream come true to play in a big club like Chelsea and I can’t wait to meet all the players and the trainers. Yeah, I am very happy to be here!”
The Germany international made his Bundesliga debut at the age of 17 in 2016 under Roger Schmidt and has played a total of 150 games in all competitions for B04, scoring 46 goals and also racking 31 assits.
During the 2018/19 campaign, he became the first teenager to score 17 goals in a Bundesliga season and gained a spot in the Bundesliga Team of the Year, also finishing second behind Borussia Dortmund attacker Marco Reus for the German Football of the Year.
The 21-year-old midfielder put pen to paper a five year contract with Chelsea.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: “Kai is one of the best players of his age in world football, so we are very happy that his future lies at Chelsea,”
“He has proven pedigree in one of the best leagues in Europe, he plays for the German national side and he is an exciting, dynamic talent,”
“We are delighted to be able to add his versatility and quality to the squad before the season begins.”
Havertz becomes Frank Lampard’s seventh summer addition, joining Germany team-mate Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Malang Sarr and Xavier Mbuyamba.
The German midfielder will now become The Blue’s most expensive signing of all time. The record was held before by the Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, he was bought for €71.3 million from Athletic Bilbao in 2018.