National player Kai Havertz, who has meanwhile also been traded with FC Bayern, is moving from Chelsea to Arsenal in London.
Both Premier League clubs confirmed the deal on Wednesday evening.
Arsenal announced that the 24-year-old attacking player had signed a long-term contract. According to media reports, this will run until 2028.
The equivalent of 75 million euros should flow to Chelsea for the former Bayer Leverkusen professional.
“We’re delighted to have Kai signed, it’s been a great job from everyone involved,” said Arsenal’s sporting director Edu Gaspar. “Kai is an outstanding reinforcement for our squad, he brings us a lot of quality and flexibility in attack.”
The transfer of Havertz is “another step to strengthen our core of young players,” explained the Brazilian.
Team manager Mikel Arteta added: “Kai is a player of the highest quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will greatly strengthen our midfield and enrich our game.”
“It’s very exciting for me to now be part of this great club and the Arsenal family,” Havertz commented on his move. “This club has such a great history and I hope we can achieve a lot.”
The mentality in the Gunners squad is “very great and you can feel it,” Havertz enthused. “That’s one of the reasons it’s been so difficult to play against Arsenal lately.”
FC Bayern probably not a serious applicant
“The goal is to win trophies and I will do everything I can to achieve that for the fans and everyone at the club,” added the Aachen native, who moved from Bayer to England in 2020 for 80 million euros.
The bottom line is that FC Bayern, who have repeatedly been said to be interested in the 37-time national player in recent months and years, apparently did not play a major role in Havertz’s poker game.
For a long time it looked like Real Madrid would be in the running for Havertz. Ultimately, Arsenal bagged the obligation.
A few hours before the official announcement, a video of Havertz in the Gunners jersey was leaked. In the evening he apologized to Chelsea for the breakdown.
“I would have preferred if you had heard from myself first what I think of my departure from Chelsea. It’s not my style and I’m upset that you had to hear it this way,” he wrote on social media towards the club.