Kai Havertz: 3 reasons Arsenal are interested in signing Chelsea flop

Arsenal are reportedly in advanced talks with Chelsea to potentially sign Kai Havertz, here are three reasons they could possibly want the German international.

In yet another crazy twist to this eventful football off-season, Arsenal are reportedly targeting the signing of German international, Kai Havertz from Chelsea.

Havertz has been underwhelming since joining Chelsea on a five-year deal in 2020 but still seems to be attracting interest with Real Madrid and now Arsenal inquiring about him in the last few weeks and the transfer window is technically not even open yet.

The status of both clubs as rivals and just the general underperformance of Havertz makes it difficult to believe that Arsenal would be approaching Chelsea for his services.

The surprising nature of these reports leaves many with questions on why Arsenal would even be interested in signing Havertz in the first place, this article explores three good reasons why that could be.

3 reasons Arsenal are interested in Kai Havertz

Tactical flexibility

As unimpressive as Havertz has looked at Chelsea in three years, the one thing that is indisputable about his game is the ability to function in many different positions.

To this day, no one can really say what the 24-year-old’s best position is because he has been deployed in many different areas of the pitch.

That flexibility is probably the main attraction for Mikel Arteta who sees an opportunity to plug different holes with just one piece.

Havertz has played regularly as a false nine in the past and frequently occupied that centre-forward spot for Chelsea. Even though he has not been exceptional, he has still proven capable in that position and could offer much-needed competition for Gabriel Jesus.

Havertz can also be an alternative to Martin Odegaard in the number 10 role which many believe to be his best position.

Or perhaps Arteta has a different plan that is less obvious at the moment, Havertz diversity is certainly an important factor.

To one-up a rival

Arsenal’s interest in Kai Havertz could be motivated by the desire to get one over a rival opponent like Chelsea.

The Gunners have just had their best season in a while, finishing second in the Premier League behind only Manchester City while Chelsea had their worst, languishing in 12th.

This could be Arsenal’s idea of adding salt to the injury of their biggest London rivals by poaching another of their important players.

This comes after Arsenal had already signed Italian international midfielder Jorginho from the Blues in January.

Despite Havertz’s underperformance, he was still Chelsea’s joint-top scorer with nine goals, making him important to the team. Chelsea fans certainly would not be too happy about losing him to a direct rival.

Financial purposes

As earlier mentioned, Havertz is three years into a five-year contract which means he only has two years left and as such his value should be significantly depreciated from the €80 million Chelsea paid for him.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea want around £75m for Havertz but it is unlikely that Arsenal will pay that amount.

The Gunners will be looking to reach a compromise for preferably half of Chelsea’s current asking price as that would be the fair valuation for a player with his contract winding down.

The opportunity to sign a talented though underperforming player for a cut-price deal in today’s market is too good to resist.

Especially with Chelsea currently in the middle of a massive clear out which makes them willing to sell as they have had discussions over the same player with Real Madrid.

If Arsenal’s interest is real, then it will not be long before a common ground can be found as Havertz is not untouchable at Chelsea.

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