The number of players that Chelsea have signed whose profiles flittered away with their appearance and goal numbers is getting to an absurd level. From an Arsenal perspective, seeing Mykhailo Mudryk’s move fade away like it has is both a relief, considering how much the Gunners were willing to offer last January, and a frustration because of the obvious quality he had.
Further names like Marc Cucurella, Saul Niguez, Timo Werner and Tiemoue Bakayoko come to mind. Others have thankfully seen their careers revived elsewhere such as Juan Cuadrado, Mohamed Salah, Kevin De Bruyne and Daniel Sturridge.
Now Arsenal are interested in signing Kai Havertz from Chelsea, football.london understands. With the Gunners keen to bolster their forward options.
As many Arsenal fans reacted apprehensively, to put it lightly, to rumours regarding interest in Havertz, perhaps we need to pause for a moment. No, his time at Chelsea has not been a raving success, despite scoring the winning goal in a Champions League final.
The hype that surrounded the German international was among the biggest in Europe prior to his sale from Bayer Leverkusen. It looked for so long like Liverpool would be the ones who would sign Havertz, but fresh from their transfer ban, Frank Lampard’s Chelsea stormed in and won the race as they so often do.
Despite what has been a dreadful season for Chelsea, Havertz managed seven Premier League goals in the chaos of the bulging squad that Graham Potter and Lampard managed throughout the campaign. According to FBRef, Havertz demonstrated fantastic physical work for a forward, great intensity and application.
READ MORE: Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: Declan Rice deal advances, Bellingham announced, Caicedo bid
Sitting in the 90th percentile for tackles, 91st for blocks, 90th for clearances and 65th for interceptions compared to forwards in the top five leagues. His aggression to get into the penalty area and on the ball was strong, in the 82nd percentile when compared to forwards and the 91st when compared to wingers.
Utilised all across the front line, the 24-year-old has been played in many different positions in west London. He scored 12 goals and gained a further six assists in 30 Bundesliga games as a 20-year-old, flanked by Florian Wirtz and Moussa Diaby when used as a false nine Havertz shone.
Chelsea simply haven’t harnessed the player’s potential, like many of the aforementioned players. It will take a lot of faith from those in the Arsenal fan base though and suggestions of a £70million price tag certainly won’t help.
It’s interesting that Mason Mount and Havertz could leave for ‘Big Six’ rivals of Chelsea. So much has been made on the money that the club can spend but they’ve arguably not brought in any attacking options that eclipse these two in raw quality, although Christopher Nkunku is sure to give things a serious boost.
If Arsenal sign Havertz I for one hope it’s for somehow at least £20million less than the previously mentioned figure. Have your say on Havertz by voting in the poll down below.
READ NEXT:
Declan Rice to eclipse Mesut Ozil in Arsenal list of Premier League transfers amid record move
Arsenal have Kylian Mbappe dilemma amid PSG exit talk and Real Madrid transfer battle
