Bayer Levekusen forward Kai Havertz has declared his desire to join a club that can immediately compete for trophies.

The Germany international has attracted attention from top clubs across the continent, with Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid all linked with a summer bid.

And the Sportsmail claim Chelsea are far ahead of others in the chase for the youngster as the London club have stepped up their interest by opening transfer talks for the Bundesliga star.

Havertz told Marca thatL: “The team is always the priority, success is collective.

“Then, the individual [trophies] come when you play well. I want to win the biggest trophies during in my career: Champions League, World Cup or Euros. I don’t think much about the individual [trophies].”

Havertz also opened up on the possibility of staying in Germany, with champions Bayern thought to be one of the favourites for his signature.

“They (Bayern) are probably the biggest club in Germany and there are many players that were very successful at a young age that went there.

“Therefore, I get linked with Bayern, but we’ll see what happens. There are players that want to stay close to their family and others say, ‘I want to live in another country’.

“There’s something clear: if you want to be a star in Germany, you can’t go wrong with Bayern.

“I think I’ve picked up enough international experience at Leverkusen. I know the rhythm of these international matches and I’m confident that I can go abroad at any moment and play at clubs outside of Germany.

“For the moment, I want to have a good season. Afterwards, we’ll see.”

When the interviewer pointed out his style would suit Barcelona, he added: “Yes, because Barcelona have a lot of the ball, but there are lots of teams that do that these days, not only Barcelona.

“Real Madrid, for example, are a team that have a lot of possession, although they’ve been a bit less efficient than Barcelona in recent years.”