Arsenal are reportedly already losing patience with Kai Havertz and want to do away with the Germany international in the upcoming window.
The 24-year-old was hit-and-miss during his three-year spell with Chelsea, where he was deployed in a variety of positions and struggled to settle under a handful of head coaches.
Nevertheless, the Gunners shelled out a whopping £65m to bring him to the Emirates, where Mikel Arteta has tried to mould him into a deeper midfield role following Granit Xhaka's exit for Bayer Leverkusen.
However, such a move has only yielded limited success, and Havertz has often borne the brunt of fan frustrations, despite Arteta's pleas to keep faith with the former Bayer Leverkusen man.
Havertz hit a slight purple patch over the winter, netting three goals in five matches against Luton Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, as well as scoring in a 6-0 Champions League crushing of Lens.
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Arsenal marched to an identical win over West Ham United on Sunday in the Premier League, but Havertz did not directly contribute to any of those goals and is without a goal or assist since the turn of the year.
Arteta has still insisted on naming Havertz in the first XI, starting him up front against Liverpool before he dropped back into midfield at the London Stadium, but he was equally quiet in both matches.
According to Fichajes, Arsenal staff are already at the end of their tether with Havertz, and the club will entertain bids for the under-performing midfielder when the summer window rolls around.
Havertz is under contract at the Emirates until 2028, but Arsenal cannot expect to recoup anything near to the £65m they paid Chelsea over the summer given his inability to resurrect his career in North London.
From 33 games in a Gunners shirt, Havertz has only managed five goals and one assist, and his best goalscoring season for Chelsea in the Premier League saw him net just eight times in the 2021-22 season.
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Real Madrid were believed to have been running the rule over Havertz before Arsenal swooped in, and Los Blancos remain on the lookout for a long-term successor to Karim Benzema, who departed for Al-Ittihad last summer.
However, Los Blancos are still making a concerted effort to bring Kylian Mbappe to the club from Paris Saint-Germain and are therefore not expected to rekindle their interest in Havertz in the coming months.
The Germany international - who recently insisted that he was enjoying life in North London - could be one of a few midfielders to depart the Emirates at the end of the season, as Jorginho and Mohamed Elneny are both out of contract in a few months' time.
Jorginho's deal does include a 12-month extension option, and Arteta affirmed that he was "really happy" with the Italian's efforts when asked if the clause would be triggered, but he refused to answer the question outright.
Meanwhile, Thomas Partey's deal is only valid until the summer of 2025, and Arsenal are also rumoured to be looking for exit routes for the Ghanaian amid his perpetual injury problems.
Ben Knapton
