(Reuters) – Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle to sign German forward Kai Havertz from Chelsea for around 65 million pounds ($82.72 million), The Athletic reported on Wednesday.
The report said personal terms with Havertz have been agreed and the 24-year-old’s move across London will see Arsenal pay an initial fee of 62 million pounds with a further three million pounds in add-ons.
Havertz would be Arsenal’s second-most expensive signing after they paid a club-record fee of around 72 million pounds for Ivory Coast forward Nicolas Pepe in 2019.
Germany international Havertz was signed by Chelsea on a five-year contract in 2020 for around 71 million pounds after two prolific seasons with Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.
At Chelsea, he won the Champions League in his first season, scoring the winner in the 2021 final against Manchester City.
Played in several positions in the front line and midfield, Havertz scored 14 goals in the 2021-22 campaign but he netted only nine times last season as Chelsea struggled to score under three different managers and finished 12th in the table.
They are looking to offload players in the close season after spending over 600 million euros ($655.74 million) on new signings since they were bought last year by an investment group led by American businessman Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Arsenal finished second champions Manchester City and have qualified for the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign.
The north London club are also looking to strengthen their midfield with West Ham United’s Declan Rice among their main targets.
($1 = 0.7858 pounds)($1 = 0.9150 euros)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
