Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has given a hint the Blues will sign Kai Havertz irrespective of his price tag if Russian owner Roman Abramovich wants the German at Chelsea.
“Abramovich didn’t have a problem with money before! When he wants something, he buys it,” Grant told Stats Perform News. “He doesn’t do things to save money. Whether they have more or less money, I don’t think it’s important.
“What I think is important is that they started to use the academy. They spent so much money on it and they didn’t give anyone a chance [before].
“My policy at Chelsea was that we wanted one-third of the squad as under-21 players because you cannot invest a lot into the academy and not give them a chance.
“Now, not as a policy, they gave them a chance, and Frank has done a great job. Michael Emenalo, a director, was always complaining that we invested a lot of money in them [academy players] but we don’t give them a chance.
“When you have a good young player, they can develop a lot and there are a lot of good talents at Chelsea, and we’re in a good phase for the coming years.
“With a good signing, they can compete with Liverpool or Man City. [Havertz] has quality. We need to wait and see [if he’s the one to bridge the gap].”