Chelsea's hopes of concluding a deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz this summer were handed a boost on Monday evening as the Bundesliga club were knocked out of the Europa League.
Having got past Scottish giants Rangers in the round of 16, Leverkusen faced Inter Milan in a one-legged quarter-final on Monday night in Germany.
But Inter proved to be too strong for Peter Bosz's side, progressing to the semi-finals of the competition with a 2-1 win, with Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku firing Antonio Conte's side in a 2-0 lead after just 21 minutes.
Leverkusen, though, did threaten a comeback just three minutes later as Havertz fired the ball home from close range, meaning the contest was set-up for an enthralling encounter.
However, despite three goals being netted after just 24 minutes, the score-line remained the same, meaning Inter progressed to the last four of the competition.
Defeat for Leverkusen means their work for the 2019/20 campaign has now reached its conclusion, meaning their focus will now switch to getting ready for the start of the 2020/21 season.
With that in mind, Chelsea will now be looking to get a deal over the line for Havertz, who would not be playing Champions League football with the German club next season if he decided to stay at the club, as Leverkusen's only hope of getting into the Champions League for next season was by winning the Europa league.
football.london understands that Chelsea are confident that they will reach an agreement with Leverkusen this summer to get a deal over the line, though the transfer fee remains an obstacle.
Leverkusen are holding out for a fee somewhere in the region of £90million, but Chelsea are working hard to see if they can get a deal completed for less.
Havertz, who turned 21 back in June, is keen to seal a move to Stamford Bridge, which means he could force Leverkusen into agreeing to let him go as soon as possible.
