According to reports in Football London, Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Kai Havertz has caught the interest of various top clubs in the Premier League including Chelsea and Arsenal.
The attacking midfielder is considered as one of the hottest prospects in European football and has been linked with a move in the summer as the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder enters the final two years of his contract with the club.
Arsenal has been linked with a move for the highly-rated Bayer Leverkusen youngster, but the transfer looks unlikely as Transfermarkt rates him at around £72.90m, even after prices getting slashed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, Arsenal fans are desperate to see Kai Havertz at the Emirates as the youngster broke the record of being the first Bundesliga player to score 35 goals before turning 21 in a 1-0 win against Freiburg, a few days ago.
First player in Bundesliga history to score 35 goals before the age of 21!
👑 @kaihavertz29 pic.twitter.com/GQqG2xxFOT
— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) May 29, 2020
Arsenal fans need to accept that historically, the club is still a giant club, but that it’s standing in the world elite has diminished. Worse still, even if the club’s owner had similar ambitions to those of the fans, they have the resources of a championship side in the transfer market.
The Covid-19 situation will no doubt be cited as the main reason for reserved spending and justify another three or more seasons of mediocrity.
So with this in mind, it would be reckless to think that Arsenal were going to go big in the upcoming transfer window. £10m just to loan Coutinho plus a fee of £50m, Partey for £44m plus and Kai Havertz for around £80.6m are the latest targets for a club that are desperately trying to offload its big earners. An outlay of £190m wouldn’t even sound feasible before the Covid-19 pandemic, let alone after.
At best, Arsenal might be able to raise £90m in sales, but it’s quite an optimistic figure under the circumstances. Aubameyang was thought to be a £50m player but now, he could cost £15m less.
So fans now need to read between the lines of the media’s current output and unless Stan injects serious transfer funds or Raul pulls off an installment deal spread over the next 5 years, these flights of fancy are a complete waste of time.
I think Arsenal could bring in three new players, one of which could be a high profile player but loans and swaps are the most likely way forward. Arsenal are looking to cut the wage bill with Mustafi, Ozil, Luiz, Aubameyang, Xhaka, Lacazette, and Pepe, all on tidy sums, but the club have to find a balance between fashioning a successful side and balancing the books.
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For me, Arsenal are at a crossroads where they either develop into a serious contender or just become an occupant of the kingdom of mid-table mediocrity.
Arteta, it seems, will have to depend on youth and his own ability to develop talent whilst Liverpool, City and Chelsea fight it out for the top slot. Arsenal are already behind the curve by three or four seasons as their competition adds more quality to their existing squads.
If the 300m Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle goes ahead, a top-four slot may get even harder for Arsenal, who are already facing challenges from Leicester, Wolves, and Sheffield United.
