Chelsea close to signing Bundesliga star Kai Havertz

Chelsea's attack next season is looking frightening already

Chelsea have emerged as frontrunners for the signing of Kai Havertz, one of the Bundesliga's breakthrough stars this season. Frank Lampard's side will face tough competition for Havertz's signature but are thought to be the only club willing to pay Bayer Leverkusen the amount they want for the 21-year-old forward, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein. Transfermarkt estimate his value to be around £72m at the moment. A move for the highly sought-after German would take Chelsea's expenditure this summer to close to £160m already, after the signings of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner from Ajax and RB Leipzig respectively. But after dealing with a transfer ban last summer, making do with turning Matteo Kovačić's loan permanent, the Blues have more money than most to spend this summer - especially if they sell N'Golo Kanté. It is thought that Leverkusen's cup final defeat to Bayern Munich - another team he has been linked with - made the player's mind up and has accelerated the process of finding him a new home. Rumours of Havertz joining Bayern gathered momentum shortly after the Bundesliga season restarted this summer when he sat out of Leverkusen's game against the champions with an injury. But since Bayern have signed Leroy Sané from Manchester City, it now looks like Chelsea are in pole position and have the most cash to splash. Havertz is a versatile forward who can play anywhere across the front line - as a striker, inside forward on the right or as a traditional number 10. His arrival at Stamford Bridge would transform Chelsea's attack, which is already set to look very different next season. And while this transfer rumour will excite the west London club's fans, they should probably look at getting some defenders too.