Chelsea face an agonising end to the season.
Frank Lampard’s men are currently third in the Premier League ahead of games against Liverpool and Wolves.
However, if they are beaten by the Premier League champions, or take a point, they will head into the final day of the season needing to win to qualify for the Champions League.
Leicester City and Manchester United both have 62 points ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures, sitting in fourth and fifth, and one of the three teams will miss out on qualification for Europe’s elite club competition.
The Blues perhaps need to qualify more than their rivals.
Indeed, they have already bought Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner and are also pursuing a deal to sign Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen.
If they are to do the latter deal, one has to imagine that it would be all the easier if they had the carrot of Champions League football, and also the financial backing that offers.
And it seems as though they are just as aware of that as anyone else.
Indeed, ESPN reports that the Blues will not table a bid for the Germany international until they have confirmed their qualification for the Champions League.
They claim that the Blues are confident of striking a deal that could cost up to £75 million for Havertz, who has been in exceptional form for Bayer this season.
A versatile attacking midfielder, the 21-year-old has scored 17 goals and registered nine assists thus far this term.
Negotiations are yet to begin but Havertz is said to be keen on moving to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea expect a deal to be finalised.
But they want to first secure their place in next season’s Champions League before committing to a bid for Havertz.
If they beat Liverpool, they will secure their qualification ahead of the final day of the season, leaving it a straight fight between United and Leicester, who play each other on Sunday.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
Chelsea need to move fast.
This makes sense in a bubble but Havertz is a generational talent and one has to imagine that vultures may begin to circle if the Blues do end up consigned to the Europa League for the 2020/21 season.
That is not to say that Havertz would not be willing to make the move, but there would surely be an opening for the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, who have also been linked with the wonderkid.
His numbers, after all, are extraordinary; he already has 118 Bundesliga appearances under his belt, scoring 36 goals and registering 25 assists.
And he has showed that he may already be too good for the Europa League; in nine appearances in the competition he has scored six goals and laid on five assists.
He has also won seven caps for Germany and has often worn the captain’s armband for his club.
Europe be damned; Chelsea need to be tabling their bid quickly for such an exciting young talent.