Arsenal keen on signing Kai Havertz with Chelsea set to demand fee of £70m

Arsenal have emerged as strong contenders to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Real Madrid have identified the German forward as a potential replacement for Karim Benzema but they could face competition from Mikel Arteta’s side.

Havertz’s contract expires in 2025 but he has told the club of his desire to leave this summer and Chelsea, who have added Villarreal’s £30m-rated Nicolas Jackson to their list of attacking transfer targets, do not want to keep players whose contracts are running out. They are willing to sell Havertz, who moved to Stamford Bridge for £62.5m three years ago, and are looking for a fee of £70m.

Chelsea need to recoup funds after spending close to £600m on players since last summer. They are set to sell Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City and Mason Mount to Manchester United, while N’Golo Kante is moving to Al-Itihhad on a free transfer.

Havertz has offered flashes of class but little consistency since joining Chelsea. The 23-year-old scored the winner in the Champions League final in 2021 and in the Club World Cup final last season. However he has managed only 19 goals in 91 appearances, although there is a feeling that he has suffered after being forced to play as a No 9 for long spells. Bayern Munich and Manchester City have also looked at the possibility of signing Havertz.

Arsenal, who are close to bolstering their midfield with the signing of West Ham’s Declan Rice, could give Havertz a chance to use his creativity and play in attacking midfield more. It remains to be seen whether Chelsea would sell to their London rivals. Their options may be limited if Madrid manage to sign either Harry Kane from Tottenham or Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint-Germain.

Much of the focus for Chelsea is on outgoings but they are targeting reinforcements in a few positions. They want a new goalkeeper and have looked at Internazionale’s André Onana and Milan’s Mike Maignan. Midfield targets include Brighton’s Moisés Caicedo and Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga, while talks have been held over moving for Southampton’s Roméo Lavia. Arsenal are also interested in Lavia.

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Chelsea want to sign a striker and their ambitious targets include Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Inter’s Lautaro Martínez. They are also interested in Jackson, who scored 13 goals for Villarreal last season. Bayern and Aston Villa are also interested in the 21-year-old Senegal international, who failed a medical at Bournemouth in January. Romelu Lukaku is unlikely to stay at Chelsea following the end of his loan at Inter.