Author: Amrit Santlani
Arsenal have officially confirmed the signing of Kai Havertz from Chelsea for an estimated 65 million pounds. Although neither club has confirmed the length of the contract, Arsenal have finally completed their first summer signing and are on the verge of consummating a second signing, as their offer of 105 million pounds for Declan Rice has been accepted by West Ham United.
“It’s very exciting for me to join this incredible club and be part of the Arsenal family. This club has such a great history, and I hope we can achieve many things“, said Havertz after joining Emirates.
“Kai is a high-quality player. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a lot of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play” said Mikel Arteta enthusiastically.
In addition, Tottenham Hotspur also completed their second summer signing with the arrival of James Maddison from Leicester City for a fee of £40 million. The England international signed a five-year contract with Spurs following the Foxes’ relegation at the start of 2023.
Both north London clubs were very active in the summer transfer window as they look to add more firepower ahead of the upcoming 2023-24 Premier League season. Arsenal are also close to completing the signing of Jurrien Timber from Ajax. The fee will be around 40 million pounds, the player has already agreed a long-term contract and he is likely to be the third arrival at the Emirates this summer.
Similarly, Spurs had already signed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Empoli for 20 million euros, having turned down the chance to sign David Raya from Brentford, as the Bees continued to insist on a fee of around 40 million pounds.
Chelsea have also been very busy this summer, with many high-profile departures, although the Mason Mount saga continues to drag on. Manchester United have reportedly held talks with Chelsea, who previously made an offer of 55 million pounds for the England international.
After the first round of negotiations, the two clubs are hoping for a conclusion soon, with a final decision expected by the end of this week. In addition, another major development on Wednesday night saw Bayern Munich reach a full and final agreement with Napoli defender Kim Min-jae.
The South Korean has agreed a five-year contract until 2028, and the Bavarians only need to pay his release clause for the transfer to be completed.
Spurs midfielder Harry Winks is about to go the opposite way to Maddison: he is set to join Leicester City for a fee of 10 million pounds. The medical examinations have already been scheduled and the transfer is very close to being completed.
On the other side of the Atlantic, former Barcelona coach Gerardo Tata Martino is set to join Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. The Argentine coach, who once worked with Messi at Barça, is ready for a reunion and will have two former players to work with, including Messi and Sergio Busquets. Jordi Alba has also been strongly linked with the Major League Soccer club, but so far there has been no confirmation of a transfer.
The exodus at Chelsea has been going on for some time, and yet another player has left Stamford Bridge: Ruben Loftus Cheek arrived in Milan on Wednesday to undergo medical tests at AC Milan. In fact, Milan are ready to sign Luka Romero on a free transfer from Lazio. The player has already agreed a contract until 2027.
Meanwhile, according to various reports, David de Gea could be about to leave Old Trafford after 12 years at Manchester United, a team that is probably keeping an eye on Inter Milan’s André Onana, who is also on Chelsea’s radar.