Kai Havertz almost had a very different career path before he moved to the Premier League.

Havertz is currently starring for Arsenal in their bid to win the Premier League and the Champions League. The German was signed from Chelsea in a £65 million deal last summer and he has gone on to score 10 goals with five assists in all competitions this season for the Gunners.

Before moving to the Emirates Stadium, Havertz spent three years at Chelsea from 2020-23 after being signed from Bayer Leverkusen. The Blues agreed a deal worth an initial £72 million that could eventually have risen to £90 million with add-ons.

However, it seems that things could have gone very differently for Havertz. Leverkusen chief executive Fernando Carro has spoken about the previous interest in Havertz before he moved to Chelsea and confirmed that Real Madrid were close to completing a move for the versatile playmaker. However, he stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a transfer was not able to be completed.

"There was a possibility with Madrid before the coronavirus, but the meeting was cancelled a week before because confinement began," Carro told Spanish news outlet AS.

Havertz went on to score 32 goals in 139 appearances across his three years at Chelsea. His most famous goal arguably came in the 2021 Champions League final where he scored the winner to beat Manchester City 1-0 at the Estadio do Dragao.

Now the 24-year-old has moved from West to North London to become a key figure in Mikel Arteta's squad at Arsenal. Havertz has started 36 games out of a possible 44 for the Gunners this season, with Arteta viewing the Germany international as vital to his plans.

Havertz will hope to play a key role when Arsenal face Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on Wednesday night. Havertz has scored just one goal in the competition this season, as the Gunners look to progress to the semi-final after a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture last week.

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