Arsenal have agreed a deal in principle with Chelsea to sign forward Kai Havertz.
The reached agreement will see Arsenal pay a total fee of £65 million structured as a £62 million initial fee and £3 million in add-ons, according to The Atheltic.
Both Chelsea and Arsenal have been working to finalize the deal in the past few days after the Gunners reached personal terms with Havertz last week. There was interest from Bayern Munich but it quickly dried out when it became clear that Havertz wanted to stay in England.
Havertz has become the latest Chelsea player to exit the club this summer as the Blues try to trim their squad whose size grew bigger in the past two transfer windows. The club also wants to be able to fund new player recruitments without breaking the UEFA Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.
The 24-year-old Germany international joined Chelsea three years ago in a deal worth £90 million and has made 139 appearances since then, scoring 32 goals and providing 15 assists.
Last season, Havertz played as a striker for Chelsea in a season where they lacked adequate attacking power, and he scored nine goals in 47 appearances in all competitions.
Arsenal are still working on more signings this transfer window. The Gunners are actively pursuing long-term target Declan Rice, although West Ham have already rejected two bids from Arsenal.
West Ham want over £100 million from Rice but Arsenal’s bids have been at most £90 million. Talks are still ongoing between the two clubs and personal terms between Rice and Arsenal are not a problem.
