Havertz can be a dominant player for 10 years, says Leverkusen director
Kai Havertz can be a dominant player for the next decade but no decision has yet been made on his future, says Bayer Leverkusen director of sport Simon Rolfes.
Leverkusen talisman Havertz is widely expected to leave the Bundesliga club at the end of the campaign after an outstanding season.
The Germany international has been linked with Bayern Munich and Manchester United, having contributed 11 goals and five assists in the league this season.
Rolfes, who spent much of his own playing career at the BayArena, foresees Havertz having a big impact wherever he ends up.
"We don't know yet what will happen to Kai," Rolfes told Marca. "We know that all the greats from Germany and Europe are after him and that he has the ability to play anywhere.
"He is a fantastic player and, for many years, Bayern has always been behind the young talents of Germany.
"But we have to wait, there are many factors that can have an influence. His future is not yet decided at all.
"I can only say that I love to see him play, especially for as long as possible in the Leverkusen shirt. I have no preferences when it comes to other teams.
"He will be one of the great dominant players of the next 10 years."
13 - Since the start of 2020, no player has been directly involved in more goals than Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz within the top five European leagues (nine goals and four assists). Eruption. pic.twitter.com/HLCzJAUmPU
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 29, 2020
Rolfes acknowledges the coronavirus pandemic could impact rivals' spending in the coming months, potentially allowing Leverkusen to keep Havertz for another season.
Regardless, he says, the club are staying calm.
"The market has changed, although in a year or two everything will be the same again in terms of top players," Rolfes said.
"Kai has a contract until 2022 and we are calm. We speak constantly with him, his family and his representative. We will see."
Havertz is not the only exciting young talent at Leverkusen, however, with 21-year-old centre-back Edmond Tapsoba quickly impressing following a January move from Vitoria Guimaraes.
Rolfes accepts it is to be expected that Leverkusen lose their better players, yet he hopes the club can improve in order to keep their star men for longer.
"We are used to it," he explained. "In each match, we have a legion of scouts in our box. We have a lot of interesting young players and we know that someday they can go to the bigger clubs.
"It is part of our idiosyncrasy as a club, as happened with [Dani] Carvajal, Toni Kroos, [Michael] Ballack, Arturo Vidal.
"With Tapsoba, we have a very long contract, until 2025, and we are calm. In general, we try to raise our level to be an interesting club for these players for a long time."