The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 created a new world order for football, presenting a sliding doors moment for clubs, coaches and players alike in terms of their fortunes and careers.
That was especially true for Kai Havertz.
Ahead of the global health crisis, Havertz was excelling at Bayer Leverkusen and was considered a generational talent in Germany, leading to intense interest from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Perhaps bravely, Havertz was understood to be keen on a move overseas, and was particularly impressed with how Madrid had turned Toni Kroos into a legendary midfielder at Santiago Bernabeu.
It felt, then, as if Havertz was destined to turn out in the white shirt of Los Blancos, with the Spanish giants having already made contact about a possible transfer.
Then, Covid-19 shut down the world, and everything changed.
Originally, Leverkusen were asking for as much as €100 million (£84m/$110m) for Havertz, but privately were aiming to earn at least €80m (£70m/$93m) from the transfer.
That is a fee that was once considered small change to Europe's elite, but in the summer of 2020 proved prohibitive to almost all of the continent's biggest clubs, including Madrid.
"They cannot make big signings due to the coronavirus crisis," former Leverkusen CEO Wolfgang Holzhauser told GOAL around the time Havertz's exit was being negotiated.
"I also fully understand that Leverkusen chiefs Fernando Carro and Rudi Voller never backed away from their demands.
"€80m is, of course, a lot of money, but compared to other transfers, it is more than justified."
GettyBankrolled by a 'pandemic-proof' billionaire in Roman Abramovich, Chelsea were left to enter the fray almost unopposed, and secured Havertz as their marquee signing in a summer where they spent £220m ($286m).
It was far from straightforward, however, with talks ongoing for several months between club director Marina Granovskaia and Fernando Carro, Leverkusen's CEO.
Those negotiations drove the initial fee down to £62m ($81m) with a further £8-9m ($11m) agreed in add-ons, thus satisfying Leverkusen's demands while making Havertz the most expensive signing of the summer window anywhere in Europe.
Though he struggled to live up to his price tag in his early months at Stamford Bridge – partly because he struggled after catching Covid-19 himself – Havertz is beginning to show why he was worth the hassle for Chelsea.
Thomas Tuchel has taken the forward to the next level since taking over in January 2021, using Havertz in a role similar to the one he was playing in during the final few months of his Leverkusen career.
"I saw a lot of him for Leverkusen when I was covering German football and he played a lot up top there," ex-Chelsea player and manager, Glenn Hoddle, explains to GOAL.
"He is not a centre-forward, but what you call a nine-and-a-half. He is more than a nine. He drifts into wide areas, plays in pockets but also arrives in the box like he has been doing.
"He has a variation about his play that I like and I think Tuchel likes. It’s about his movement, but what he does now is he arrives in the box and has become a box threat.
"That’s why the ball is going in the back of the net for him. He has a habit of scoring key goals in big games. He is in a confident mood, so he will be relied on for Wednesday."
GettyIndeed, as a goalscorer in the final of both the Champions League and Club World Cup, Havertz's latest task will be leading the line against Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues are looking to repeat last year's semi-final win over the Liga leaders in this season's quarter-finals, with Havertz again expected to start ahead of club-record signing Romelu Lukaku.
"Kai has been playing really well for Chelsea. He seems to fit the way Chelsea plays and it suits him a lot," former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips told GOAL ahead of the tie.
"He always finds himself either off the shoulders of defenders or in the pockets between the centre-back and full-back. That's hard for a defender to mark because it moves people around and creates space for his team-mates.
"He always seems to have defenders caught in two minds. He is fantastic running in behind and on the ball. His all-round game has been fantastic of late. He has just settled in now."
It might have taken him some time, but Havertz certainly does seem to be enjoying himself in west London, just over two years on from football's coronavirus-enforced shutdown.
Madrid may well be left wondering over the next week what might have been had the virus never materialised.
