Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz, football.london understands.
The 21-year-old Germany international, who has been on Leverkusen's books since 2010, has been a long-term target of Chelsea's, with head coach Frank Lampard desperate to add the attacking-midfielder to his ranks.
It is understood that Havertz is desperate to seal a summer switch to Stamford Bridge and will be happy to get it wrapped up as soon as possible, once both Chelsea and Leverkusen have agreed on a transfer-fee, which is expected to be somewhere in the region of £80million-£90million.
Chelsea have already been splashing the cash in an effort to bolster their chances of competing for the Premier League title next season, with the club having already spent more than a combined total of £80million on signing Moroccan international Hakim Ziyech from Ajax and RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner.
Taking that into account, Chelsea could have been forgiven for wanting to ease off of the accelerator in terms of their recruitment drive and take a step back.
But that is not going to happen, with the club's transfer guru - Marina Granovskaia - doing all she can to ensure Lampard has all of the necessary tools to mount a Premier League title charge next term.
Granovskaia has become something of a cult hero amongst Chelsea's supporters in recent years with her ability to negotiate great deals and and put the club's finances, both in the short-term and long-term at the very front of her mind.
And she is the one currently doing all she can to ensure Chelsea soon have the signing of Havertz secured.
Should Chelsea's plan to lure the highly-rated Germany international to Stamford Bridge over the coming weeks all go to plan, it is Granovskaia that Chelsea's fans will have to thank, with her negotiating skills once again coming to the fore.
A report published by German media outlet Sport Bild has revealed that Granovskaia, before Chelsea's registered a firm interest in Havertz, had obtained information from several sources about the way Leverkusen, Rudi Voller - the Bundesliga club's sporting director - and Fernando Carro - Leverkusen's chief executive offer - negotiate deals.
It is claimed that the Chelsea director hoped she would discover weaknesses in her findings and be able to use those strengths to her advantage when looking to finalise a deal for Havertz, which is edging closer and closer towards getting completed.
Offering a unique insight into Granovskaia's work of being a tough negotiator, Klaus Allofs, the former general manager of Werder Bremen, said: “Marina Granovskaia enjoys the absolute trust of her boss [Roman Abramovich].
"If an agreement is reached, it is absolutely reliable. When negotiating, however, it is tough.
"This is often because she can act from the position of strength."
