Arsenal have seen their opening bid for Kai Havertz rejected by Chelsea, according to reports.
Havertz, 24, is the subject of interest from Real Madrid and Arsenal, but Chelsea‘s valuation of £70 million is set to put the Spanish side off trying to complete a deal.
The Chelsea forward is out of contract in June 2025 and Chelsea want Havertz to extend his deal at Stamford Bridge or to look for a new club, which is now appears to be the likely option as Mauricio Pochettino begins to complete his squad overhaul following the opening of the summer transfer window on Wednesday.
Havertz is believed to be open to a switch away from Chelsea, which would end a three-year stay in west London, a period that has seen him win the Champions League, Super Cup and Club World Cup.
As reported by The Times, Arsenal were set to submit an offer in excess of £55 million for Havertz, with personal terms not expected to be an issue between the Gunners and the German.
Nathan Gissing confirms Chelsea have rejected the Gunners’ first offer.
It was previously claimed by Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail that Mikel Arteta’s side were willing to pay Havertz more than £200,000-a-week to land his signature.
Arsenal are readying another offer for Declan Rice after having their opening bid rejected by West Ham. They are also interested in Chelsea targets Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia.
Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany adds that Bayern Munich, who were linked with Havertz last summer, have expressed an interest in the attacker, however Arsenal’s pursuit is ‘more concrete’.
Havertz’s former club teammate, Timo Werner, offered some advice to his fellow countryman regarding a possible summer transfer, telling reporters while on international duty this month: “Kai always got his minutes, no matter how things went at Chelsea. It was a bit chaotic there in my time. But the team will move back to where Chelsea belong in the next few years.
“A move to another club where you might play internationally is better, of course, because you want to play Champions League every year.”
Havertz has made 139 appearances for Chelsea in his three years at the club after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for a, then, club-record fee of £72 million.
