Arsenal confirm Havertz coup and reach general Rice agreement
Arsenal have completed and confirmed the signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea. The transfer is believed to be worth up to £65 million.
Reppin’ the famous red and white 😮💨
❤️ @kaihavertz29 pic.twitter.com/RUHcLpzw3H
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) June 28, 2023
“It’s super exciting for me to be joining this amazing club and to be part of the Arsenal family,” Havertz told Arsenal.com.
“This club has such a big history, and I hope we can achieve lots of things.
“The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently.
“The aim is to win trophies and I’m going to give everything to do that for the supporters and everyone at the club. I’m now looking forward to meeting all the players and the staff when we come back for pre-season.”
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Havertz is not the only bit of business the Gunners have done this Wednesday. According to numerous sources, they’ve also reached an agreement over the proposed transfer of Declan Rice, as West Ham informed them they would be willing to accept their offer of £105 million in total, £100m guaranteed and £5m in the form of add-ons.
The only matter left to be ironed out is the structure of the payment of the guaranteed part; the Gunners have proposed to pay the amount through a period of four years, while West Ham want it done in 18 months. That, of course, is a minor wrinkle which shouldn’t jeopardize the deal.
Arsenal faced competition for Rice’s signature from Manchester City, but the 2022/23 treble winners pulled out of that race and have now reportedly turned their attention to Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga.
Liverpool “explore” Szoboszlai transfer as Carvalho heads for Germany
Liverpool are reportedly exploring the possibility of signing Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig. The Hungary international is believed to tick all the right boxes for what Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is looking for, following the failures of signing either Jude Bellingham or Mason Mount.
The Merseysiders are, however, aware that it will be difficult to prize the 22-year-old attacking midfielder away from the Red Bull Arena, and this particular business won’t have anything to do with the loan of Fabrio Carvalho, who has already left for Germany to undergo a medical at Leipzig.
Liverpool could reportedly face competition for Szoboszlai from Newcastle.
Spurs sign Maddison
While Arsenal work hard to strengthen their ranks and possibly mount another Premier League title challenge next season, their neighbours and arch-rivals aren’t standing idle.
Tottenham Hotspur have completed and confirmed the signing of James Maddison from Leicester City. The 26-year-old is reportedly set to cost Spurs £40 million.
Chelsea interested in Laporte
It’s all-out action in the Premier League in the last couple of hours. Chelsea are reportedly interested in signing Manchester City’s out-of-favour centre-back, Aymeric Laporte.
Laporte joined City from Athletic Bilbao and was, as believed by many, supposed to be their answer to Liverpool signing Virgil van Dijk in January that year. However, injuries and form oscillations mostly prevented the 29-year-old Spain international from making such a big impact at the Etihad, and the club soon moved on by adding Ruben Dias to their ranks. Dias, John Stones, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake are all ahead of Laporte in the pecking order under Pep Guardiola, and it probably makes sense for him to seek regular game-time elsewhere.
As for Chelsea, they’ve parted ways with Kalidou Koulibaly, and with Thiago Silva being 38 years old, adding a player of Laporte’s quality to Mauricio Pochettino’s ranks probably wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Holding in Besiktas talks as Arsenal push for Timber
Besiktas are reportedly in talks with representatives of Arsenal defender Rob Holding over a potential transfer to Istanbul.
The 27-year-old has been a very useful squad option for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, stepping in to patch up holes wherever his strength and defensive prowess were needed. But he will be aware by now that that’s all there is for him to do at the Emirates; he isn’t very likely to get ahead of any of William Saliba, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and Tahekiro Tomiyasu.
What’s more, having signed Havertz and agreed a deal in principle for Rice, Arsenal are reportedly looking at Jurrien Timber of Ajax with the purpose of strengthening their back line further, which would likely push Holding further down the pecking order.
Neymar wants PSG stay
With Lionel Messi gone from the club and the future of Kylian Mbappe hanging in the air at the moment, Neymar reportedly has no wish to leave Paris Saint-Germain.
The significance of the Brazilian forward arguably decreased after Messi joined PSG in 2021, and he missed the last three months of the 2022/23 season through an ankle injury. The club were believed to have planned his departure this summer, but the 31-year-old himself apparently sees the current situation as the perfect opportunity to get his former status as the main star at the Parc des Princes back.
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