Lautaro Martínez has been on the radar of Barcelona for a long time, but it seems like Inter Milan are not ready to give up on their prized possession just yet. In these circumstances, the Catalan club must look at other options, and it seems like they have identified their target.
Sport reveals that Kai Havertz could be on his way to Spain and in return three other Barcelona players namely, Emerson, Carles Aleñá and Marc Cucurella, could be shipped off to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in place of the talented German. The exchange of players could be aimed at bringing down the astronomical fee that Leverkusen are demanding for Havertz.
The difficulty with this deal
Barca have all along made it clear that they want Martinez to be brought in from Inter as a statement signing this summer. However, the problem that this deal possess is the high valuation in which the Italian club hold their man. Roping in Havertz from Leverkusen would have the same difficulty as the German club are not inclined to let go off their asset without a fight. In comparison to Martinez, Havertz has as many contenders as men like Jürgen Klopp are inclined to secure the signature of the prolific youngster.
In the post-COVID-19 era, the purse strings of almost all the clubs are tightened, and it is hard to say whether the Catalan side would be able to match the valuation of Havertz. Indeed, they have offered several players of their squad to the Bundesliga side, but it is hard to say whether they would be interested in the services of the trio mentioned above.
Moreover, some of them are playing on loan at other clubs, and they may want to stay there permanently, making things more complicated for Barcelona. Therefore, if the board intended to bring in a player for cheap and without much fuss, Havertz may just not be the man for that purpose.
Would Havertz suit Barca?
The 20-year-old plays primarily in the attacking-midfield position. Antoine Griezmann’s performance has been underwhelming, and his future at Camp Nou remains a matter of doubt. Havertz could be a direct replacement of the French star and given his performances on the field; it is expected that he would make the position his own for a long time to come.
The German is a future star with all the right attributes required to be the support system of the Barca attack for quite some time. Playing alongside the likes of Messi would only help him to learn the tricks of the game in a better manner and expedite his prominence in European football. Setién could certainly do with a man like Havertz and urge his board to cut this deal.
