Arsenal have tabled a new bid for Kai Havertz worth £60 million and are expected to step up their interest in Declan Rice with an improved offer in the next 24 hours.
It’s reported that the Gunners have already agreed a five-year contract with Havertz that will make him one of the club’s highest earners on wages around the £210,000 per week mark.
Arsenal want to pay Chelsea a guaranteed £60 million, payable in instalments, with £5 million up for grabs in add-ons depending on the club’s success in the coming years. The Blues have been holding out for nearer £70 million but are expected to lower their price.
Expectation around Kai Havertz deal is to get the agreement done this week — after the international break. ⚪️🔴 #AFC
Arsenal hope to get green light from Chelsea as five year deal is already agreed with Kai.
Indicated fee to get the deal done is around £65m. pic.twitter.com/Z9fBsCunfC
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 20, 2023
Personal terms with Rice are also thought to have been agreed and the West Ham midfielder has informed other suitors his preference is to continue his career in London at Emirates Stadium.
Despite suggestions Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United might enter the bidding, none of them have done so.
Those rumours are thought to have been planted by the Hammers who rejected Arsenal’s opening offer last week – a package worth £90 million – in the hope of securing nearer £100 million.
Southampton’s midfielder Romeo Lavia is another player who interests Edu with Fabrizio Romano reporting talks are advancing.
Understand Arsenal are advancing in talks to sign Roméo Lavia. Negotiations ongoing with Southampton and player’s camp, still no official bid ⚪️🔴 #AFC
Southampton hope for their record fee for U21 player.
Man Utd interested but priority is Mount; Chelsea, keeping close eye. pic.twitter.com/Emu5XpmUkH
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 20, 2023
The 19-year-old is being lined up as a possible replacement should a big offer arrive for Thomas Partey.
Clubs in Saudi Arabia have been given the green light to conduct talks with the Ghanaian with Arsenal keen to recoup the €50 million they spent three years ago.
Thomas Partey’s agent has given his approval for the Saudi league to negotiate a deal for Partey. [@sLoM506 via @omar_arsenal94]
— Z (@ZRAFC) June 20, 2023
Allowing Partey to leave would represent something of a risk given a deal is in place to let Granit Xhaka join Bayer Leverkusen but Mikel Arteta isn’t scared to undertake a comprehensive rebuild of a midfield that can still lean on the experience of Jorginho and Mo Elneny.
Overnight, The Athletic also reported on a £30 million offer for Ajax defender Jurrien Timber. The Holland international is adept at playing the inverted right-back role and is seen as the perfect candidate to balance out the reliance on Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Ajax are said to want a significantly higher sum to persuade them to part ways with one of their most gifted players.
It’s breathless stuff.
Breathless, it is.
I hope this new bid will curry favor with Rice and west ham.
It didn’t
Wonder why we always struggle. Unless we being sabotaged. Liverpool signs McAllister with one bid. Chelsea signs Nkunku at first time of asking. Or is it our approach?
Both had a buy out clause activated
Nkunku was a forgone conclusion a long time ago. That transfer has been on the agenda for the last year.
Not that it’s not the case with Rice.
Bullion will take our offer, will need it to cover his latest purchase from Leipzig.
Todd “Bullionaire” vs Stan “Ca$h is King” Kroenke in a cage match. Eye gouging guaranteed, FFP be damned.
I’d be more on board with Havertz if it wasn’t for some of our history with Chelsea, e.g. Gallas and Willian for a start.
This stuff about buying players from Chelsea needs to stop, it’s silly superstition at this point. Most of that was pre-Arteta bargain bin shopping, paying 60m for Havertz is quite far from that. If you want to be critical of the transfer base it on the player on a case by case basis, but if your case is that he’s not played great for them lately my question for you is who has?
Nobody of theirs has played well lately, and I wouldn’t want any of them!
Arteta plucked Jorginho and that seemed to work out well
Sorry Ebo but no. I will add Cech and Luiz to that list. They were middling at best. I have not forgotten how they tapped up Ashley Cole. And to see Fabregas & Giroud in blue was nauseating. When it comes to our dealings with Chelsea, they seem to come out on top (John Hollins RIP aside and we won’t discuss Graham Rix). I don’t like their rejects, or Man U rejects either for that matter. Looking at you, Silvestre. I think Havertz is a lightweight. I see poorly timed runs down blind alleys and misplaced passes. I see glaring… Read more »
I really don’t see how Havertz is worth that kind of money. That fat cunt Boehly should be begging us to take him off their hands.
I tend to agree with you, but I’m now in the camp where I’m happy to trust that Arteta/Edu know what they’re doing, and in an environment where people aren’t laughing at him, Arteta will get the best out of him
I have faith in Arteta and Edu as well. If they want him that much then clearly they’ve seen something in him that has passed us mere mortals by. I’m sure he’ll do fine with us. It’s just that considering the cunts club he comes from I do wish we were paying less for him.
Agreed!
I honestly think it’s more about his mentality/ego. Clearly he’s really talented. If he comes locked in and hungry then I think it will be a great signing. If he shows his fragility like at Chelsea it won’t be. He reminds me of ozil in many ways. Supremely talented and highly technical player, but does he have what it takes inside his head to be truly elite?
Though Ozil came from serial trophies with Madrid and the World Cup.
Kai does have a champions league final winning goal…
Exactly so, we support and trust the manager. If Havertz is the player he wants, he gets. Frankly, I am happy with all the linked players.
Same, it’s not the kind of signing I had in mind at all but I’m starting to come round to it, especially if he’s coming in primarily for Xhaka’s role and competing with ESR instead of Jesus’. If we were picking him up straight from his time in the Bundasliga we would all be losing our minds about him.
Even if that’s true, we still don’t need to pay Chelsea this kind of money to get him. I completely trust Arteta’s judgement on players and if he likes Havertz, we should definitely get him, regardless of his history with Chelsea. What I really don’t understand is the economics of it. Chelsea have a problem in their hands and we should utilize this to get a good deal for ourselves. If Arsenal pullout, I don’t see any other club going to even 50M for Havertz. If this was an Arsenal player, I see us selling him for a loan with… Read more »
Yep, also a perfectly valid point – if the shoe was on the other foot we don’t get £60m for him plain and simple.
I guess if he comes in and recaptures his Bundesliga form then £60m is excellent business, and I back Arteta to facilitate that.
Picturing the prospect of a solid defensive group and Declan Rice giving our “attacking 5” (with Havertz making those Xhaka runs into the box) the platform to do their thing… and couldn’t give a solitary fuck what he’s worth. Get it all done and roll on pre-season!!
I’m picturing Arsenal overpaying for a player and helping Chelsea strengthen before the next season. After all the shit we’ve endured from that club over the years, decades even, and here we are not sticking it back to them when they are down for the count. I give a fuck about that.
Blimey, it’s all going off
What a start! We might very well have signed Havertz, Rice, Lavia and Timber by the end of June, that’s pretty impressive.
The only worry I have is that we might seem desperate to sell by other clubs after that. I hope we’ve improved our strategy on that front as there is a lot of money to recoup in the outgoings.
I agree slightly but it’s not like previous years where we were desperate to sell. If at the end of the window we still have the likes of Tierney, Partey etc it would not be harmful at all to us.
Hard to have it both ways. On balance it’s better for results to get players in quick and let them have a full preseason than trying to sell first and then get players in late. Big teams move first, glad we are moving early acquiring our targets aggressively.
And I still think that if Partey leaves, we need another midfielder as Lavia is still pretty raw. Gundogan would have been a great short-term option, but he looks set do join Barça.
The difference being the players we’re selling are wanted by those buying.
Would you Havertz some Rice on a Lavia Timber table?
Why can’t we get these done quietly. You know Man U, Citeh, Pool etc will come in with better bids & we’ll be back to square one.
I cannot believe for the life of me why oh why we are pursuing Havertz. Really is bewildering considering his performances for Chelsea last year.
Remember Ramsdale and Jorginho?
I don’t think last year’s shambles at Chelsea is a fair assessment on any of their players abilities. It just goes to show how quickly one clueless (and classless) owner can fuck up a once well drilled team.
Not that I feel sorry for them. I wish them eternal misery.
Does anyone believe Havertz is a striker? It’s quite clear Chelsea aren’t using him properly
Seems an Odegaard type of player tbh
Exactly, he’s an attacking midfielder
I’m pretty sure he’s gonna be playing up front for us. He’ll be one of our tallest players. He scores a lot of headers. Trossard was great for us as CF, Havertz will play there as well and rotate with Jesus. I imagine we could see him on the wing as well but I think Jesus is more likely to be put there ahead of him. AM is a possibility but probably unlikely unless we have a different system, or Odegaard is out. Havertz is not a creator, he’s a run in behind finisher. He could do this from Xhaka’s… Read more »
If we sign him he’ll play in all positions across the front 5 most likely. He’s a good option as an alternative up top, but not like Jesus is half bad, innit!? He call spell saka, ode, and probably play #8 and LW if needed. Versatility and technical quality are definitely up to scratch. He’s quality, but does he want it bad enough!?
call him a hard working Ozil
Arteta is backing himself to get a different tune out of Havertz. I like that the manager doesn’t play it safe with the supporters, he goes after the profiles that the team needs. Arteta plays this game on another level. Edu and Arteta are really cooking something special this window.
Heh.
‘Can’t Sign Won’t Sign.’
I agree with you Ron but I also agree with the people who say that Arteta and Edu have earned our trust… They surely have. Still, I mean, Havertz just looked poor to me every time I saw him play. Just a bust.
If you want to get on the hype train there’s a YouTube video by Scout Nation titled “Kai Havertz – the Art of Passing” – it’s 3 years old from when he was at Leverkusen but you can immediately see the talent the guy has playing deep and free-roaming compared to the videos of him shackled up top at Chelsea. Yes it’s 3 years ago but you don’t forget that stuff, and even if it is the Bundesliga I still think it’s a more accurate portrayal of his talents to watch playing in his preferred position in the Bundesliga compared… Read more »
I realize it is not my money but I am most bewildered by the cost. 60 million and one of the highest paid players?
Tifo (JJ Bull) did a fantastic video on the ‘why’, which I found very enlightening. Like you and so many others, I was very underwhelmed, but have come around and am quite excited.
I’m happy to defer to the experts and admit that I don’t watch enough of Chelsea and the German team to know, but all indications are that it might be a very astute signing.
Would love to get these all wrapped up before the squad returns for pre-season, we need a good pre-season and time for the new recruits to adjust before our huge season starts! Also what a great feeling it would be to not have to check the football transfer gossip every 20 minutes and just look forward to get lads getting match fit and playing again.
The Havertz deal stinks. Not worth that much money, and doesn’t deserve a salary of that kind. Giving any money to Chelsea stinks too.
Those who think *why Havertz* who hasn’t done much at Chelsea. I say Salah and de Bruyne 😉
If he turns out anything like those two we will have done well. Plus it means our starboy gets a break!
In fairness Salah and de Bruyne were Mourinho’s bullying targets of the day. The man most famous for breaking and wasting great players. That’s not the same as underperforming for Tuchel, Potter and Fat Lampard.
Before this season where he has been deployed centrally Havertz performed well for Tuchel – he wasn’t the man for Lampard (who was) and didn’t fit Potter’s ever-changing systems. Looked a good player in Germany and early at Chelsea – plus if Madrid and Munich are interested there must be a player there
Havertz played loads for Chelsea – De Bruyne & Salah didn’t get chances. I’m not writing Havertz off but your point re: those two doesn’t add up
Bergkamp played loads at Inter too and was widely considered a flop. He was poorly utilised and played out of position just like Havertz.
I don’t think anyone can seriously consider him a lone front man, which is basically how he’s been played
The havertz deal is very puzzling. Always buying chelsea cast offs
To be fair, they have like 179 first team players. They just did the claw machine for class talent. Can’t keep em all!
Happy flowers
I have very wild dreams
Happy Havertz if this deal goes through.
I can get used to us functioning like a smart football club.
I’d wait until the deals are done and dusted if I were you mate.
At the moment, we’re getting blown out more times than a wind sock.
It’s not breathless until it’s done
Xhaka could have done us a favor and joined the Saudis for three times the miserable 15 mill Leverkusen is paying. If Partey is going that route, it shouldn’t be for peanuts.
I wonder what Pepe’s agent has been up to. Get this guy in front of the Saudis and tell then he’s Arsenal’s record signing. They should be able to pay something substantial.
Edu and Arteta are making a rod for their own backs with this transfer. If he flops at Arsenal – and I think he will – then they will get the mierde poured all over them by both the media and the Arsenal fans.
I just don’t get this deal.
On that basis you probably didn’t get the Thierry Henry or Bergkamp deals either.
Were Bergkamp and Henry overpriced on huge salaries when we bought them? I don’t think so.
I’m sure they would have been considered to be at the time
I won’t, you win some you lose some. TH14 was doing nothing at Monaco on the wing, AW took a big risk signing him, it paid off.
I was in support of the Willian and Jorginho transfers but this, I really don’t get, especially for that mad money they’re asking for. I’ll just trust Arteta and be happy to be proven wrong. I mean, what else can one do?
Get all salty with the rest of the Hair Shirt Mob on here….
Mate, the deal Edu needs to get done is Rice. If he cocks that up, questions will need to be asked. Most Gooners I’ve spoken to couldn’t give a shit about Havertz one way or the other – except to say that the money could be better spent getting the Rice deal over the line. Views that I share completely. We need to strengthen the defence and the defensive midfield. We already have Jesus and Nelson who can both cover for Saka on that right wing. It’s a position that needs to be addressed for sure, but it’s not the… Read more »
Hello, Q As usual, you’re right about a lot of stuff, but this transfer window is absolutely NOT just about Rice. Ideally, we need to bring in about 4 or 5 quality players to enable us to challenge for the PL and the CL next season. And I’d like to see us jettison the same number of deadwood players who are contributing nothing to the club. Wasting 60 million plus wages on a player we don’t need is crazy. Every penny should be spent efficiently. BTW: I don’t buy into this b/s about Rice going to City. If they wanted… Read more »
If we actually sign Havertz, Rice, Timber and Lavia that would be some transfer window. Lets hope it’s true and we get the lot of them!
Shame all teams cannot mass-boycott CFC transfer dealings. It would be fitting to see them spiral in an FFP whirlpool.
My biggest concern is we end up where we are now, just replacing Xhaka and Partey with Rice and Lavia. Interesting to see how it all ends up. It’s genuinely exciting, and I hope we strengthen and retain as much cohesion as possible.
Still waiting for a proper logical explanation of why we are planning to pay 60 million to Chelsea for Havertz? Personally I think we should go for Caicedo over Rice. Lavia I don’t get either…Timber is a good deal if it is true. Also, just to mess with Sp*rs we should put daily bids in for Harry Kane starting at £2 million going up £1 every 5 minutes to fk with their fax machine.
£90m INCLUDING add-ons is still NOT going to be enough to sign Rice.
£90m PLUS add-ons up to £100m SHOULD do the trick.
If it’s the latter, then fair play to Edu.
If it’s the former, then yet again, he is wasting everyone’s time.
West Ham want £100m – they have stated that time and time and time again.
As I have said, ad nauseam, this is not the time for quibbling or penny pinching over the odd £10m or so.
If you want top drawer players, you pay top drawer money. End of.
You were righh. Ornstein reporting a rejection of 90 mil.
It’s all so predictable.
And, for the record, I HATE being right in these situations.
I would much rather Edu proved me wrong – and Arsenal and Arteta get the players they need.
Come on Edu! Third bid. £100m. Get it done. We are The Arsenal.
COYG
Yeah, let’s just ask the clubs what they want for a player and offer exactly that. Maybe even 10 Mio on top to be sure. Sounds like a fantastic transfer strategy.
If £100m is clearly too much for Declan Rice, who would you have Arsenal sign with the same Premiership and International pedigree for less money?
Where exactly did I say that 100 Mio is clearly too much?
I just said it‘s completely normal to negotiate and not offer the requested sum straight away. Apart from the fact that no one really knows what they are asking for and what we‘ve offered.
Is 90m ‘back of the sofa’ money?
Do you have your own company? Would you pay a supplier/employee whatever they asked for off the bat?
If Arsenal can afford £90m, they can afford £100m. Sorry mate, pleading poverty just doesn’t wash. I don’t have my own company; I’m a London black cabbie. Like all black cabbies, I work long hours and charge a fair rate. If someone wants taking to an airport or a long journey, I state my price – and it’s up to them – they either take it or leave it. I get far more people accept than decline, because most people know that a black cab is safe, secure and from an long traditional establishment that has built its reputation on… Read more »
You definitely chat too much but this is a fair point well made.
Chatting is part of my job!
Apologies for the waffle.
Fair enough, but your passenger only has a tenner and he’s got to get some dinner later too so needs some money left over for that. Maybe it’s the end of a quiet shift for you so you do it for less than you’d ideally want.
I think it’s clear that we feel we’ve got the whip hand in this negotiation as Rice wants us, let’s wait and see if we can save a few quid to put into another purchase or four.
They’ve also said he’d be sold this summer.
Obviously it’s early in the transfer window but West Ham would be wise to learn from Daniel Levy’s mistakes of waiting until the last day of the window to squeeze every last penny out of the deal only to lose focus on the incomings
They won’t have to wait for the last day.
City will come in with a bid of £100m+, which is exactly what West Ham were asking for originally.
They’ll also offer Rice more money than us – simply because they can.
Yes, it’s unfair, but we’ve had/still got a good chance to put this to bed and sign him.
I honestly don’t know how people in here can be ok with £90m and get the crucifix and garlic (Garlick? 😂) out when £100m gets mentioned.
It’s not even their money.
It looks like we want to do a deal too, let’s hope this gets sorted in the next day or two
Yep.
Our tilt at the Premiership Title and the Champions League depends on it.
Sell Partey and Xhaka and not get Rice in – and we are well and truly fucked.
Absolutely not keen about this for the sum for the wage in any sense. For 60m?! How do every other club manage to sell so well? We, on the other hand, potentially Xhaka for 13m, Balogun for 35m, if Partey leaves that would be some measly sum as well… Edu and Arteta have earned the trust for sure. I remeber feeling similar about Ramsdale but 60m to Chelsea.. i dont know..
It’s good that the club is not wasting any time but going full steam ahead with signings as well. No more of this last day panic buying crap!
Actually Bill, our second bid for Rice is still £10m shy of West Ham’s £100m valuation and will be turned down flat. So, your assertion that we’re not time-wasting doesn’t ring true. Yet again, Edu is inviting a situation where one of the big spenders can bomb us out of the water without breaking a sweat. Pep is probably already putting the final touches to a £120m deal and that will be that – unless Edu finally wakes up, smells the fucking coffee and tables a lightning quick third bid that meets West Ham’s asking price of £100m. It’s all… Read more »
100 mil is too much for Rice. Every player has a value ceiling and while Rice is an excellent player, his value ceiling should be no more than 80mil. Why be held hostage by rivals in the same league when other, cheaper, options are out there? Just look at how Liverpool do their deals for how we should be operating.
Name these other cheaper options.
Ruben Neves, who we were interested in Jan window, is now likely to leave wolves for a Saudi club for £47m. He’s 26, an excellent cdm and proven leader for his club and country. Macalister, 24 yr old cdm, Argentinian World Cup winner, sold to Liverpool for 35m (!). And finally caicedo, who will be sold for less than rice. Probably around 70-80m. There’s deals for good players out there that represent better value than overpriced Rice.
Neves is nowhere near the same quality as Rice. Which is why a Saudi club and not City/Utd/Chelsea/us etc aren’t interested in him.
MacAlister has already signed for Liverpool….??
And Moises Caicedo is now being priced at £100m by Brighton which is currently frustrating the shit out of Chelsea.
Not exactly overflowing with like for like quality but cheaper options there mate………
They spent 75 mil of VVD about 7 years ago. proven quality ain’t cheap bro
Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea at £56m makes me think Havertz is overpriced. We are simply buying Nkunku for them with some change left over. And I think he is a far better forward player than Havertz.
Agreed. Havertz deal is a joke. When you have to start justifying it based on his previous form with his previous club three years ago (!), then time to reassess and look to spend that sizeable sum on someone else. Someone who could, you know, actually score on a regular basis.
Havertz is gonna rip it up under Arteta – I’m looking forward to your humble pie.
*£52m
Stop pretending you’ve ever seen Nkunku play. Nobody has. He will flop for sure.
The Hammers though
Seems we are very persistent with Kai. It’s not a small sum. I’m not entirely sure if we can do better with the 65m
That imminent bud seems to be around the same amount but with different structures. I think given Manure are interested and will pay an inflated fee we need to move on or up the fee.
Fee^
Interesting. If Partey is let go do we then retain Xhaka? It seems mad to let both go even with Rice and Lavia incoming. With Jorginho as well we need four quality midfielders here then Elneny for extra backup.
I’d let Partey go and keep Xhaka.
We’d retain the better player, make some money to offset the Rice deal and keep a player whose influence in the dressing room alone would be invaluable.
A no brainier for me. Sell Partey; keep Xhaka.
Yes, give Granit the deal he wants.
Of course it’s always tough to know what to believe that is reported about transfer negotiations, but if it turns out that for some reason we don’t get Rice because we didn’t want to increase our offer by 10 million, but spend 65 million or so on Havertz that will be a disaster. I certainly don’t want the club to throw around money like we have our own printing press, but as a fan it’s frustrating to see us waste 72 million on Pepe (who we can’t sell for 5 million) and potentially see us lose out on Rice (a… Read more »
Common sense remarks like that will not be tolerated.
How dare you.
😂 🍺 👍
I definitely don’t like Havertz. And I don’t like Rice at 100m. That’s insane cash even Madrid or PSG would balk at. I can just about tolerate Rice at 80m no more. If not walk away from both. Tired of getting shafted by same league rivals. Fkn Havertz for 65m?! Fck me that’s such a bad deal…
According to Fabrizio it’s all done.
Welcome to the Arsenal Kai!
I’m sure he will explode with us and prove to everyone why he was one of the top talents in Europe a few years ago.