Chelsea switch targets from Coutinho to fellow Bundesliga attacker

Chelsea have decided to divert their attention to signing Bayer Leverkusen youngster Kai Havertz rather than pursue their interest in Coutinho, reports The Athletic. 

Coutinho is set to leave Barcelona this summer and with Bayern Munich deciding against making his loan move permanent, a Premier League return is very much on the cards. 

Chelsea had been one of the frontrunners in the competitive race to sign the Brazilian, yet the Blues have supposedly elected against making a move for the 27-year-old. 

Instead, Chelsea are now focusing their efforts on landing Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen, who has enjoyed a fine start to the calendar year, scoring four and assisting four in eight league outings. 

The Germany international has previously spoken of his desire to play abroad and Chelsea will hope to use this to their advantage as they look to revamp their ageing forward line this summer. 

Indeed, Pedro and Willian are expected to leave once their contracts expire and while Hakim Ziyech will officially become a Chelsea player as of July 1st, head coach Frank Lampard is looking to strengthen further in attack in the off season. 

And it has led the Blues boss to Havertz, who has previously been courted by Premier League rivals Liverpool.