Sports Chelsea transfer round-up: Havertz hold-up as talks begin over £50m goalkeeper

It’s been a busy week at Stamford Bridge. 👇

Wednesday saw Ben Chilwell become a Chelsea player, joining in a £50million transfer from Leicester City.

Thursday witnessed Malang Sarr complete a move as a free agent, with Thiago Silva putting pen to paper on an initial one-year deal on Friday.

Next up, Kai Havertz is expected to sign for Frank Lampard’s side in what could be a club record transfer. This is before Chelsea have made a move for a new goalkeeper, with Lampard eager to find a replacement for the unwanted Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Here are three of today’s biggest Chelsea transfer stories.

Havertz deal held up by Leverkusen demands

Chelsea’s move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz is being held up by the Bundesliga club’s demands over the payment of bonuses.

The Blues are widely believed to be close for a deal for the German international, with Lampard making the signing of Havertz a priority for the summer transfer window, but negotiations are dragging on somewhat.

According to Bild journalist Christian Falk, this is due to the add-ons and bonuses Bayer Leverkusen want to be included in the deal for the player.

“They’re very close, the parties, because of the price," said Falk (as per the Daily Star). "It’s a question of add-ons - €80m should be paid directly and then €10m and €10m. The hold-up is when.”

Chelsea open talks with £50m-rated keeper

Chelsea have turned their attention to AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after running into complications in their pursuit of Edouard Mendy from Rennes.

The Stamford Bridge club are believed to be in the market for a new goalkeeper amid doubts over Kepa, with Lampard having dropped the Spaniard in favour of Willy Caballero for last season’s FA Cup final against Arsenal.

Football Insider claims Chelsea had plotted a move for Mendy, but are now focused on AC Milan shot-stopper Donnarumma who is into the final year of his contract at the San Siro.

Donnarumma is valued at £50m by the Serie A club with Chelsea already in talks over a move for the Italian international this summer.

Chelsea set Kante asking price with funds to be used in Rice pursuit

Real Madrid have registered their interest in Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, with the Stamford Bridge club having set an asking price of £60m for the Frenchman.

Football Insider claims Lampard is willing to sanction the sale of the 29-year-old this summer as he continues his reshaping of the squad at Stamford Bridge.

Inter and Real Madrid have both made approaches for Kante, although any pursuit from the two clubs is at an early stage, with Chelsea having only just made clear where they stand on the former Leicester City man.

It has been reported that the funds raised from the sale of Kante would go towards securing a deal for West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, who Lampard sees as a key target.