Arsenal have emerged as strong contenders to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea. Real Madrid have identified the German forward as a potential replacement for Karim Benzema but they could face competition from Mikel Arteta’s side.
Havertz’s contract expires in 2025 but he has told the club of his desire to leave this summer and Chelsea, who have added Villarreal’s £30m-rated Nicolas Jackson to their list of attacking transfer targets, do not want to keep players whose contracts are running out.
They are willing to sell Havertz, who moved to Stamford Bridge for £62.5m three years ago, and are looking for a fee of £70m.
Chelsea need to recoup funds after spending close to £600m on players since last summer. They are set to sell Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City and Mason Mount to Manchester United, while N’Golo Kante is moving to Al-Itihhad on a free transfer.