Morning light fills the living room of a spacious apartment in the Sudstadt, Cologne's most vibrant neighborhood. With breakfast finished, Kai Havertz pulls out the piano bench. He sits to play. His repertoire, built over the past two years, includes pop and jazz standards.
He has been learning it the past few weeks. To improve, he must keep practicing. One of the most coveted footballers in the world, Havertz, 20, is a reported transfer target for Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Juventus, Real Madrid and now Liverpool. Thoughtful and reserved, he seldom visits the night clubs and beer halls that line the streets below. Still, he likes to feel a city's thrum and bustle. The liveliness of the Sudstadt attracted him away from the staid suburbanism of Leverkusen, a short drive across the river, where he plays attacking midfielder for Bayer I can grow in this situation.
He lives alone. The piano helps fill the time, and it helps clear his mind. You need something else. When he visited, he'd sit at the keyboard and bang out notes. When Julian Brandt, who was his teammate at Bayer for the past three seasons and now plays for Borussia Dortmund, mentioned he was learning the guitar, Havertz decided to take up the piano in earnest.
His schedule is busy. Lessons can be weeks apart. Yet as he begins to play, he strikes the keys with confidence. With his left hand, he creates a pattern known as an " Alberti bass ," the notes proceeding low to high and then middle to high. With his right, he plays the melody, which moves higher and higher, creating a sense of foreboding.
One day, perhaps even in the next few days, Havertz will leave his flat in Cologne. The sum could pay for an entire Leverkusen starting midfield. The newspapers in Germany speculate about where Havertz might go.
