Arsenal are expected to pay €80m (£68.4m), including add-ons, for Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, according to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg.
The usually reliable journalist claims Bayern Munich were considering whether to make their own offer for the 24-year-old but he says that negotiations with the Gunners are “too advanced” for it to be hijacked:
❗️News #Havertz: He‘s very close to join @Arsenal now! All depends on the final offer from Arsenal. #CFC
Havertz, keen to join #Arsenal now as personal terms are almost agreed. Arteta loves to see him in addition to Jesus.
➡️ Bayern inquired about conditions in the last days… pic.twitter.com/jWjyPZvDID
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) June 18, 2023
Unsurprisingly, fans on Twitter are not happy about the amount that the club are willing to shell out on Havertz, considering his pretty mediocre displays for Chelsea over the past three years:
This is ridiculous
— Franklin Saint-Slacktrick 🇯🇲 (@Slakonbothsides) June 18, 2023
It’s unfathomable for such an average player.
Arteta must see something we can’t…
— Robbie Scowls (@RScowler) June 18, 2023
Can’t be €80m, surely
— Sean Wilson (@WilsonFC2012) June 18, 2023
What?
It was said over and over again that Arsenal will not pay 75M
They wanted to pay around 60?— Krakers ⁷ (@Spanish_Dream_) June 18, 2023
with €80M, I prefer Caicedo over Havertz
— TescoBagFC (@oagaagn5) June 18, 2023
Have we lost the plot 😭
— AFC JABALI 🔴⚪🇰🇪 (@AFCJabali) June 18, 2023
€80m ?? Utterly bonkers.
— MG (@arnau1700) June 18, 2023
Crazy amount, his value just around €50M maximum…
— pausa (@tree_of_pausa) June 18, 2023
Arteta must see something in Havertz
It is known that the Gunners boss is the driving force behind the club’s attempts to snap up the German international so the Spaniard must be confident that he can get the best out of the player.
However, you do have to question why he is prepared to spend so much of the transfer budget on Havertz when there are a number of other positions that could do with strengthening first.
Caicedo and Lavia would probably be better investments
Arsenal are said to be interested in both Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and Southampton’s Romeo Lavia. Neither are expected to be cheap with the former likely to fetch in excess of £80m, so why have the Gunners decided to make Havertz a priority when the money could be devoted to signing one of these two midfielders?
Supporters are having a hard time getting their heads around this transfer and it’s not hard to see why.
