Kai Havertz has explained his decision to join Chelsea in the summer transfer window, insisting “it was important to have a club with a vision”. Havertz emerged as one of the most sought-after talents in Europe following a superb 2019-20 campaign at Bayer Leverkusen.
The 21-year-old helped Leverkusen finish fifth in the Bundesliga and reach the DFB-Pokal final, as well as the Europa League quarter-finals, scoring 18 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions.
His performances attracted attention from the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus, but Chelsea ended up winning the race for his signature at the start of September.
The Blues forked out an initial fee of £72 million ($96m) to bring the midfielder to Stamford Bridge, tying him down to a five-year deal which will see him remain in west London until 2025.
Havertz has already established himself as a regular in Frank Lampard’s starting line-up, with the Blues currently fighting on multiple trophy fronts after a major summer overhaul.
The Germany international has now revealed why he chose to continue his development at Chelsea amid interest from a number of other top clubs, telling Sport Bild: “To me, it was important to have a club with a vision.
“The club is on the move. We are a young team with a lot of great players. We think aggressively.
“We want to build something here and attack. This motivates me. And then, a title with Chelsea is just worth more.
“A transfer like this doesn’t happen overnight. I had to go through all options and things which are important to me. I was watching a lot of Premier League on TV anyhow and knew Chelsea really well.”
Havertz trod the same path as fellow countryman Timo Werner in making his way to Stamford Bridge, with the striker having completed a £47.5m ($63m) switch to Chelsea from RB Leipzig in June.
The former Leverkusen star says Werner’s presence has been crucial in helping him to settle in, but he does not wish to become overly reliant on his compatriot.
“I help Timo with good passes on the pitch and, at the beginning, he helped me out with a lift to the training ground,” Havertz added.
“Sure, we do a lot of things together. This helps a lot. But we also must go our own ways to fully settle here.
“To me, the move to England is also an important step for my personal development.”