‘Chelsea MUST finish in the top-four to persuade Kai Havertz to move to Stamford Bridge’

Kai Havertz will reportedly only join Chelsea as long as they qualify for next season’s Champions League.

It was previously reported that the starlet has had enough at Bayer Leverkusen and has told the club of his desire to seek pastures new.

Chelsea are leading the race to sign the 21-year-old this summer and are preparing to launch a bid for the forward.

But, according to SportBild’s head of football, Christian Falk, Havertz wants to leave the BayArena because of their failure to qualify for the Champions League.

He adds that Chelsea must qualify for the Champions League to convince him of a move to Stamford Bridge.

This comes after Chelsea’s pursuit of a top-four finish was damaged on Saturday after they fell to a heavy 3-0 defeat against high-flying Sheffield United.

Should Leicester City beat Bournemouth on Sunday and Manchester United take all three points against Southampton on Monday, Chelsea would drop out of the top-four.

The club will also have an eye on whether Manchester City will escape their two-year European ban, as the Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to deliver their verdict on Monday.

Havertz is valued at £75 million but Chelsea would have to match his £90m buyout clause if they wish to prize him away from the Bundesliga club.  

Chelsea are willing to match that fee but would prefer to pay it in installments. 

They could face stiff competition however from Real Madrid for his signature. However any pursuit from the Spanish giants would depend on them selling players first in order to fund a move. 

The German forward has enjoyed a brilliant season with Bayer Leverkusen, scoring 17 goals in 43 games across all competitions.

Despite his fantastic performances, the club just missed out on a Champions League place finishing fifth in the Bundesliga, while they also were runners up in the German Cup following a loss to Bayern Munich.