Terms agreed – Arsenal agreed personal terms with Champions League winner, salary set to £250,000-per-week – Official announcement tomorrow
Arsenal appear to have made further progress in their pursuit of Kai Havertz from Chelsea after reports from two sources indicated how they are ramping up the pressure on their London rivals.
Havertz has emerged as a surprise target for Arsenal in recent days as they look to add to their attack. He hasn’t quite fulfilled his potential at Chelsea since coming to the Premier League in 2020.
Still only 24, though, there is still a player with significant potential in there. It might have to be a club other than Chelsea to unlock it.
On Wednesday, Fabrizio Romano revealed there had been ‘positive contacts’ between Arsenal and Havertz over a shock cross-London switch
Now, on Thursday, Football Transfers is claiming that Havertz has already ‘agreed’ personal terms with Arsenal, whom he is keen to join.
According to the report, Arsenal have deployed Jorginho as a sort of secret weapon to convince Havertz to join them. The Gunners signed the midfielder from Chelsea in January and maybe his former teammate could follow this summer.
As has already been indicated, though, there will still be work to do between the two clubs for the transfer to happen. Arsenal do not want to meet Chelsea’s current asking price.
Football Transfers relays that Chelsea want £70m for Havertz, but Arsenal are £15m below that valuation with their own estimations at present.
Chelsea open to selling Havertz to Arsenal
The £70m request has also been reported on Thursday by the Evening Standard, which claims Chelsea are willing to sell him to Arsenal nevertheless.
Per the Standard, Arsenal are happy to match the £250,000-per-week salary Havertz currently takes home from Chelsea.
It seems that the 24-year-old doesn’t need any further convincing about a move to the Emirates Stadium. But he will only be able to complete it if Arsenal agree a fee with Chelsea
Havertz – who has also been linked with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich – will be hoping for progress on that front soon. As the Standard reflects, Arsenal are ready to take advantage of the Financial Fair Play pressure Chelsea are under by aiming for a deal before the end of the month
Chelsea need to sell players by June 30 to balance the books for the 2022-23 period. Arsenal believe that could play into their hands in terms of tempting them to accept a lower fee for Havertz.
Furthermore, there are only two years remaining on Havertz’s contract at Chelsea anyway. With that in mind, this summer might be the best time for the Blues to recoup a decent fee before his market value declines in 2024 and he becomes available for free in 2025.
A move might give Havertz the new lease of life he needs to rediscover the potential he was showing at Bayer Leverkusen before.
He arrived at Chelsea as a versatile attacking midfielder, but the struggles of their strikers has seen him pushed forward into a false nine role. It has worked to varying degrees, though it now seems obvious he would be better suited playing behind a focal point
Obviously, Arsenal already have club captain Martin Odegaard in the attacking midfield role. However, perhaps they could find room for Havertz as well
That said, adding a centre-forward could theoretically be on Arsenal’s agenda too. They brought in Gabriel Jesus to much excitement last summer, but he wasn’t quite as reliable as expected.
Eddie Nketiah is the current backup option to Jesus, while Folarin Balogun will probably push for a permanent exit after earning a breakthrough on loan at Reims in Ligue 1.
Exactly how Mikel Arteta would use Havertz, only the manager knows. The report from Football Transfers even suggested he could slot in on the right wing, providing competition for Bukayo Saka.
At the moment, there maybe isn’t an obvious spot for Havertz to take in the Arsenal starting XI. However, his versatility should enable him to earn regular gametime depending on which other players are available for each game.
Furthermore, Arsenal – unlike Chelsea – will have Champions League football on offer next season. Therefore, there will be plenty of games on the schedule for all their squad members, new or old, to earn opportunities in
And the prospect of playing in Europe’s top competition with the Premier League’s runners up from this season seemingly only adds to their appeal.
