Arsenal In Shock Move To Sign Kai Havertz, Who is Rated at £70m By Chelsea, As Real Madrid Cool Interest.

Arsenal have emerged as shock contenders in the race to sign Chelsea star Kai Havertz and have already made contact with the Blues over a potential transfer.

The Germany international has failed to hit the heights many expected of him when he arrived in West London from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2020 for £90m, but sealed his place in Chelsea history when he netted the winner against Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final in Porto, and in the Club World Cup final.

Havertz, had a tough 2022/23 season where he spent most of his time operating as a striker for the Blues but ended the campaign with a fairly underwhelming return of nine goals in 47 appearances across all competitions.

His contract is set to expire in 2025, but have informed the club of his decision to leave this summer.

Manager Mikel Arteta is keen on Havertz and will look to prize the 24-year-old away from Stamford Bridge, but they are not the only one interested in him.

Bayern Munich are hoping to tempt Havertz into a return to the Bundesliga. They may also boast an advantage given they are currently coached by the midfielder's former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.

He has also previously been linked with a move to join Real Madrid too, but the Spanish giants have cool interest, having already announced the signing of Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.

He was identified as a replacement for Karim Benzema, but Harvertz options of joining the 14-time record UCL winners, may be limited if Madrid manage to sign either Harry Kane from Tottenham or Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain.

From Chelsea's perspective, the West London club, are hoping to extend his stay but are open to parting ways with the player providing their valutation of £70million is met.

According to reports, it is unlikely that Arsenal will fork out that much for Havertz, as they plan to reassess their budget after splashing out on Rice for an expected club record fee worth of £100 million, and especially considering new boss Mauricio Pochettino needs to trim what is a bloated squad, as well as find transfer for new signings in the summer .

The Blues co-owner Todd Boehly had spent over £600million on new players since taking control of the club in May 2022, but have failed to yield positive result, as they finished 12th in the Premier League and missed out entirely from any European competition next season.

Arsenal are hopeful to wrap up a deal with West Ham United's and England midfielder Declan Rice by the end of this week.