Arsenal sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea for £65 million, he becomes their first signing of this summer. The deal makes him the second most expensive signing ever for the Gunners.
However, if they sign Declan Rice from West Ham United, that would bump Havertz down to third.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were also interested in signing Havertz, but Chelsea’s asking price was too much for both the clubs.
Kai Havertz leaves Chelsea after three-years
Chelsea signed Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 for £75 million. However, he never settled perfectly at the Stamford Bridge and struggled to make a big impact.
The 24-year-old secured his place in Blues history by scoring the goal that won them a second Champions League crown in 2021.
Havertz scored 32 goals in 139 appearances for the Blues. After a three year spell, he will sign for their rivals.
Arsenal sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea as Mikel Arteta’s first singing of the summer
“Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play,” Mikel Arteta said.
“We welcome Kai and his family to Arsenal Football Club and we are all excited to start working with him when we start pre-season training soon.”
Mikel Arteta wanted Havertz as he considers him a versatile player. The German midfielder can play as a striker, winger and attacking midfielder as well.
Kai Havertz praises Arsenal’s mentality
He said, “It’s super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family. This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things.
“The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.
“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club. I’m now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”
He will be reunited with his former team-mate Jorginho at the Emirates Stadium.
