This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to new reports coming from Bild, Kai Havertz currently has a total of seven suitors on his plate – among them are Barcelona and Liverpool.
But looking at it from the Blaugrana’s point of view, he would unfortunately be a waste of money.
What’s the word, then?
The German publication insists that Havertz is being courted by Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Needless to say, the now 20-year-old playmaker is bound to be spoiled for choice once the time comes to leave Bayer Leverkusen, and with so many European giants knocking on his door, that is bound to happen sooner rather than later.
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But that also means that his price tag is likely to boom and the same outlet (via Daily Mail) reports that it could reach a figure as big as £110m.
For that reason, Barcelona should reconsider chasing the young German because he is simply not needed at the moment.
Coutinho 2.0
The Catalans have already burned cash once before by snatching a Liverpool star.
Of course, we are talking about the Brazilian, Philippe Coutinho, whose big transfer to Catalonia ended up in flames. And now, they are seemingly going head-to-head with the Reds in a different type of transfer battle and are willing to contest them for Havertz.
But as good as the kid is – and he definitely is considering so many big names are after him – he simply doesn’t fit Barcelona’s needs, just as Coutinho didn’t.
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Both players are attacking midfielders who like to position themselves just behind the striker but the Catalans don’t really use that profile in their squad for a simple reason: Lionel Messi.
The Argentine is a left-winger but only on paper. On the pitch, we all know Messi likes to drift inside and occupy the central channels, sometimes serving as the false nine or even as an attacking midfielder.
That’s one of the major reasons why Coutinho never worked out for Barcelona.
In the 76 games he played for them, as per Transfermarkt’s database, the Brazilian was slotted onto the left flank in a total of 58 occasions and rarely got a chance to play in his preferred position.
It’s reasonable to think the same might happen to Havertz and he simply wouldn’t be able to be deployed where he’s most comfortable.
From Liverpool’s point of view, however, things might look much better as they could definitely use such a playmaker who could emulate Coutinho’s role in Jurgen Klopp’s system.
The forward trident of Mane – Firmino – Salah is definitely deadly but having someone who can create the chances for them and set up the attacks while they charge into space could be beneficial for the squad.
£110m sounds like a lot of money and for that reason, it should only be paid by someone who knows they need such a reinforcement.
At this moment in time, Barcelona do not match that description.
Elsewhere, many Spurs fans were not really happy with the latest development regarding one of their big targets…