Kai Havertz’s move to Real Madrid has the feeling of a saga which could drag on all summer.
Chelsea want to sell and Madrid want to buy, but neither is yet in a difficult enough position to bow to the demands of the other. Chelsea want something in the region of €70m for the attacker, while Madrid don’t want to pay anything near that.
It might well be a game of chess until the end of the summer, when party will have to blink.
Until then it’s a phoney war, and according to Fabrizio Romano’s latest update we shouldn’t expect too much movement soon. He says that Madrid “have no intention to pay big fee” and that negotiations are “currently off.”
That situation will only chance if Havertz’s “price tag will be lower later in the window.” That’s certainly a possibility. If Chelsea decide that there is no other interest in the German international and they’d rather sell him than let him get towards the end of his contract, then there’s a good chance they accept less than the steep sums they’re asking for now.
Of course in the interim Madrid may move for another alternative and end their interest entirely. It’s going to be an interesting few weeks of cat and mouse.