This just in from Florian Plettenberg — Bayern Munich have just entered the race for Chelsea FC striker Kai Havertz. The 24-year-old, who is currently on international duty with the German national team, is seen as an alternative to expensive striker options like Randal Kolo Muani and Dusan Vlahovic. The player is also wanted by Arsenal, who have reportedly opened talks with him.
According to Plettenberg, Bayern’s interest in Kolo Muani has cooled considerably, owing to Eintracht Frankfurt’s 100m euro price tag. The Frenchman seems closer to a move to PSG at the moment. Napoli’s Victor Osimhen was already ruled out earlier in the window, while Tottenham’s Harry Kane seems out of reach. Thomas Tuchel admires Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, but he would be expensive and the bosses haven’t even entered him into the discussion (for some reason).
Now, we come to Havertz. Per Plettenberg’s reporting (via @iMiaSanMia) Havertz could cost between €60-70m, though Arsenal’s interest is more concrete right now. Fans will be hoping that it stays that way, since Havertz isn’t the type of true #9 that the club is looking for right now. He played as an attacking midfielder at Leverkusen, and his outings at striker for both Chelsea and the German national team have been lackluster at best.
If Havertz comes to Bayern, he would be in competition with Thomas Muller and Jamal Musiala for the attacking midfield spots, while exacerbating the problems up top. In a year where securing a top quality striker is an imperative, ending up with someone like Havertz would be a massive disappointment.
Hopefully this is just a passing interest, and the club bosses switch to more concrete targets soon.
Update
Bild have come out with the same story, so there’s some real smoke here. Looks like Bayern consider Havertz an alternative to their “main” striker targets, but not a first choice.
Update #2
After Declan Rice, looks like Arsenal will beat Bayern Munich to another signing. They seem much more determined to get it done, unlike Bayern.
Let’s just just let them have this one.