Football journalist Raphael Honigstein has issued some latest updates on the situation of Liverpool target Kai Havertz.
Honigstein was recently present on the latest episode of the ‘Totally Football Show podcast’ recently and he was asked about the situation of Havertz at Bayer Leverkusen. Honigstein revealed that the German could indeed be looking to leave Die Werkself, but there are things that could complicate the scenario.
Liverpool are one of the clubs interested in signing the Leverkusen star. The likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United have also been linked with a move for the youngster (via the Athletic).
Should Liverpool take the risk of signing Havertz this summer?
Yes, absolutely
No, we shouldn't
But while talking about Havertz’s situation at the BayArena, Honigstein said (08:25): “The fact that Leverkusen have missed out on the Champions League at least via the league, they can still win the Europa League and qualify that way, has made it less likely that he’s going to stick around.
“He, I think wants to leave. But he also understands Leverkusen have put out a fee that is going to be very difficult to meet for anyone. So he might be in a position where he just has to wait. The only way to make this big move is to wait until football’s finances are rebounding- hopefully, next summer. So, [it is] not a foregone conclusion that he will leave.”
The journalist believes that while the German would ideally want to leave, the pandemic has made it tough for clubs to afford the price-tag that Leverkusen have put on him at this point.
TIF Thoughts…
The 2019/20 season was a very impressive one for Havertz. He contributed to a total of 26 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions for the club. In the Bundesliga, he scored 12 goals and came up with six assists as well (via Transfermarkt).
While those are impressive numbers for the youngster, the pandemic has affected Liverpool’s finances this summer. That is one reason why they missed out on signing Timo Werner as well. Even in general, the pandemic has affected the finances of many football clubs in England.
So it can be very tough for the Reds to spend big on Havertz at this point of time or maybe even in the next summer transfer window – depending on how the finances in the game recover.