According to reports in Spain, Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz favoured joining Real Madrid over Chelsea before the coronavirus pandemic shattered his hopes.
Spanish media outlet Marca claim Havertz was desperate for a big-money move to Real Madrid and only settled on joining Chelsea because Real Madrid were unable to raise enough funds for the transfer.
The report claims Chelsea were only able to hijack the move for the Bayer Leverkusen star because Real Madrid dropped out of the race due to financial difficulties.
Havertz is close to joining Chelsea after reports in Germany confirmed Chelsea have reached an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen to pay €80m with a further €20m in add ons for the midfielder.
Meanwhile, German media outlet Bild claims Havertz had a successful Chelsea medical on Sunday.
Bild claim all formalities are done and that Havertz has passed medical examinations, with his transfer set to shatter the British transfer record.