Rumour Mongering: Liverpool Make Kai Havertz Top Target

Liverpool have been linked with a lot of attacking talent over the past year, but one of the names that just keeps coming up—alongside the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Timo Werner—is Bayer Leverkusen 20-year-old talent Kai Havertz.

Which makes talk today that the Reds have made Havertz their top summer transfer priority less than a complete shock, even if the source of the latest chatter being Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo is worth a raised eyebrow or two.

For what it’s worth, Mundo Deportivo give a nod to unnamed German sources meant to be the true source of this rumour escalation, but it’s not entirely clear just who it is back in Havertz’ homeland who’s meant to be pushing the story.

Still, given the sheer amount of rumour mongering when it comes to Liverpool and Havertz, it’s worth at least acknowledging that as of today there are outlets—maybe not the best placed or most reliable, but outlets—talking about it.

Havertz, were he to sign, would arrive primarily as an attacking midfield sort, a player whose role would seem to overlap most naturally with the likes of Naby Keïta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, or even perhaps new signing Takumi Minamino.

However, the young German does have some pace to his game—plus he’s a solid finisher when he gets close to goal—and isn’t entirely unfamiliar with a wide role, which means it’s not impossible he could get minutes in Liverpool’s forward line.

Of course, the same could be said of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Minamino, as well as Xherdan Shaqiri, who’s widely expected to depart this summer in search of more regular playing time—which could open up a spot in the squad for Havertz.