Arsenal join race for Chelsea star

Having narrowly missed out on a first Premier League title in two decades, Arsenal look set for a busy summer transfer window. 

The Gunners topped the table for the majority of the season before a late run of underwhelming results allowed Manchester City to leapfrog them before storming to a third consecutive title.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is therefore keen to bolster his squad ahead of next term, especially with the north London outfit set to compete in the Champions League for the first time in seven years.

It seems that Arteta has already started identifying potential targets ahead of the window, which officially opens next week, and it appears that the Gunners could make a sensational move for a Chelsea star.

According to The Telegraph, Arsenal are keeping tabs on Chelsea star Kai Havertz.

The report claims that Arsenal have joined Real Madrid in being interested in the German international, but neither side is willing to match Chelsea’s £70m price tag.

Havertz, 23, joined the Blues from Bayer Leverkusen for around £70m back in 2020 but has struggled for consistency throughout his time in west London.

Havertz is one of several Chelsea stars that could be sold this summer

The highlight of the Germany international’s Chelsea career so far is undoubtedly his winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final, but he has often struggled in front of goal too.

Since joining the Blues, the 23-year-old has netted 32 goals and racked up 15 assists in 139 appearances across all competitions.

It is believed that Chelsea will not stop the player from leaving as they need to raise funds and reduce the size of their squad after a year of spending since owner Todd Boehly took charge.

However, both Arenal and Real Madrid are reportedly unwilling to pay more than £50m for the 23-year-old, which leaves Chelsea in a tricky situation.

The player’s current contract is set to run until the summer of 2025, but he has so far given no indication that he would extend that deal, the report claims.

As well as Real and Arsenal, two other unnamed clubs are also believed to have shown an interest in signing Havertz, who scored 46 goals in 150 matches during a much more prolific spell with previous club Leverkusen.