Liverpool 'prepared to break transfer record'
Liverpool are ready to splash a club record £107million on Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz, according to reports in Spain.
Germany international Havertz is one of Europe's most sought after talents having becoming a regular during the past four seasons - and was named in the Bundesliga Team of the Year last season.
The 20-year-old has already made 126 first team appearances for Leverkusen since his debut in 2016, and has also picked up seven full international caps.
According to Mundo Deportivo, the Reds have placed themselves at the front of the queue - ahead of the likes of Manchester United , Barcelona and Bayern Munich - for a summer transfer by making contact with Leverkusen representatives already.
But for the Liverpool to lure him to Anfield, they will have to shell out in excess of £100m - which would overhaul the £75m they spent on Virgil van Dijk.
Havertz has been at Leverkusen since 2010, when he was 11, having previously learnt his trade at local clubs Alemannia Mariadorf and Alemannia Aachen.
"I am honest, at some point the next step must come for me,” Havertz told Bild last year.
"But I’m not going to worry about when exactly that will happen.
"What counts now is Bayer Leverkusen. We still have a lot to do. Leverkusen very quickly signaled that they wanted to keep me.
"That’s why it wasn’t an issue for me. Now I’m starting my tenth year here, maybe we can make it a golden one for the club.
"What will happen afterwards has not yet been decided. There is no club where I have already signed.”
Source: Daily Mirror
This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.