Chelsea and Arsenal are only around £10m apart in their valuations of Kai Havertz as a potential move nears, according to recent reports.
The news that Mikel Arteta’s side were keen on the German forward broke on Wednesday, with the Gunners looking to add more quality to their squad after securing Champions League football for next season.
Havertz could potentially play across the frontline, where he has struggled for Chelsea, or take the spot of the departing Granit Xhaka further back in midfield, with the Swiss midfielder expected to join Havertz’s former club Bayer Leverkusen this summer.
The German has endured a tricky time since he moved to England in 2020, often being played as a lone striker and struggling to find the back of the net or hold up the ball with any consistency. Across his three seasons in the Premier League, he has managed just 19 goals and 10 assists, and has yet to hit double figures in either category over the course of a single campaign.
Now down to the final two years of his contract at Stamford Bridge, he is either due to sign a new deal or be sold this summer and the latter is looking far more likely amid interest from Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
With Real Madrid refusing to pay more than £50m for the German, and Chelsea keen to sell before the financial fair play deadline of June 30th, a move across London could be the most likely outcome, with the two sides having discussed a deal.
However, they add, the Gunners are willing to stump up ‘£60million – inclusive of add-ons’ and pay Havertz himself £200,000 per week to move to north London, with the 24-year-old ‘keen to move across London’ if a deal can be agreed.
