Kai Havertz, the Chelsea star, has admitted that it would be difficult to turn down a move to Bayern Munich and has expressed his willingness to work with Thomas Tuchel again. Havertz was a key player under Tuchel during his tenure at Chelsea, where he was utilised as a false number nine to great effect. He scored the decisive goal in the 2021 Champions League final, helping Chelsea secure a 1-0 win over Manchester City.
Despite leading Chelsea’s scoring charts in the Premier League this season with seven goals, the club is thought to be open to selling Havertz as they look to bring in a new, more orthodox forward to lead the line. Bayern have been linked with a move for the Germany international, who previously played for Bayer Leverkusen, while Real Madrid have also been credited with interest.
Havertz has conceded that he would find it very difficult to say no to Bayern a second time, having opted to join Chelsea over the Bavarians in 2020, and has welcomed the possibility of working under Tuchel again. When asked about his decision to pick Stamford Bridge over the Allianz Arena three years ago, Havertz said: ‘Bayern is a huge club and for me, especially as a German, it’s difficult to say no. But my goal has always been to play abroad and see a new country.’
On Tuchel, he continued: ‘I had a very good relationship with him and am very grateful for everything.’ When asked if it would still be difficult to say no to Bayern if they made an approach now, Havertz replied emphatically: ‘Clearly!’ Probed on whether he would like to work with Tuchel again at some point in the future, Havertz replied: ‘Definitely! You never know what will happen in football. Everything can happen very quickly. Never say never.’
Tuchel took over the reins at Bayern in a shock appointment last week, with the German champions deciding to sack Julian Nagelsmann, even though he had presided over the only 100 per cent record in the Champions League, winning all eight matches this season, including against Barcelona, Inter and PSG. Speculation has already started linking Tuchel with moves for some of his former Chelsea players, such as Havertz and Mateo Kovacic, while he also wants to poach highly rated coach Anthony Barry.