Arsenal have reportedly failed with their first offer for Chelsea attacker Kai Havertz.
Over the past few days, the Germany international has apparently emerged as a leading transfer target for Mikel Arteta amid uncertainty surrounding his Stamford Bridge future.
There is a consensus that Havertz has failed to live up to expectations in West London since arriving from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020, and the Blues could be open to a sale ahead of the 2023-24 season.
With Havertz only contracted to Chelsea for another two years, Mauricio Pochettino's side are not in a position to demand an astronomical fee, but they will still supposedly try to make a profit on the €80m (£68.4m) that they paid for his services three years ago.
According to The Telegraph, Arsenal have accelerated their efforts to sign Havertz and recently submitted an opening bid to Chelsea, but the offer was swiftly rejected.
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Chelsea are apparently holding out for a fee of at least £70m to sell the 24-year-old, which Arsenal are currently not willing to fork out, but the Gunners are hopeful of driving the price down.
Arsenal are expected to come back with an improved bid, and there are doubts over whether Chelsea can indeed stand firm on their asking price given their well-documented need to balance the books.
The report adds that Havertz has no plans to extend his contract beyond 2025, and Chelsea are therefore prepared to let him join their London rivals for a suitable fee in the current window, although Bayern Munich are also keeping a close eye on the situation.
The former Leverkusen starlet is believed to earn £250,000 a week at Stamford Bridge, but Arsenal are prepared to keep him on the same wages and should not experience any roadblocks when discussing personal terms, as Havertz is said to be keen on the move.
Since touching down in West London, Havertz has amassed 32 goals and 15 assists from 139 games for Chelsea in all tournaments, including the winner in the 2020-21 Champions League final.
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The German attacker has also won the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup with the Blues, but he managed just nine goals in 47 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
Havertz found the back of the net seven times from 35 Premier League outings and failed to score in his final nine top-flight appearances of the season, but he still ended the year as Chelsea's joint-top scorer in all competitions alongside Raheem Sterling.
It is unclear where Havertz would fit in at Arsenal, as the Gunners are well-stocked at centre-forward with Gabriel Jesus, Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard, although Folarin Balogun could soon be on his way out.
Martin Odegaard, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe are all capable of playing in the number 10 role, but the latter two failed to impress last season, and Havertz could alternatively be dropped into a deeper position.
Arsenal are set to lose Granit Xhaka in a £13m move to Havertz's former team Leverkusen this summer and are working on a deal to bring Declan Rice to the club, but West Ham United have rejected their first bid for the Englishman.
Ben Knapton
