Arsenal transfers: Medical booked in as Edu reaches £65m agreement for first summer signing; Gunners ‘can’t believe’ their luck

Arsenal have finally reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Kai Havertz with the Germany forward now set to undergo a medical ahead of a £65m switch.

The Gunners enjoyed an excellent 2022/23 season, finishing as runners-up to Manchester City. And while there was a big portion of disappointment they could not go one better, plans are now underway to strengthen their hand next season.

Indeed, Arsenal are going big in their quest to strengthen their squad with three blockbuster deals in the works. To that end, the club are closing on the signing of Romeo Lavia from Southampton. He looks set to arrive as a possible replacement for one of Granit Xhaka or Thomas Partey, both of whom are being linked with moves elsewhere.

Arsenal are also in talks with West Ham over a deal for Declan Rice. Sporting director Edu, however, has seen two bids waved away by West Ham, with the Hammers seeking a fee in excess of £100m. Our transfer expert Graeme Bailey provided a detailed update on the difficulty Arsenal face in signing Rice earlier this week.

Before either of those deals get done, however, it seems Arsenal will get a move for Havertz over the line.

Edu has also already seen an opening offer of around £50m waved away by Chelsea.

However, following a fresh round of talks between the two rivals, David Ornstein has revealed an agreement has now been reached.

And the trusted journalist claims Arsenal have now struck an agreement in principle to sign Havertz worth £65m.

Furthermore, personal terms have already agreed on a reported five-year deal. That leaves Arsenal with just one hurdle left to clear before signing the 24-year-old.

READ MORE: Kai Havertz is a marginal gain for Arsenal when they need giant leaps forward

Arsenal cannot believe their luck over Kai Havertz transfer

Havertz will now undergo a medical at Arsenal before finalising the switch. And the move – the club’s first new arrival of the summer – is likely to go through before the end of this week.

Havertz, who scored the winner in the 2021 Champions League final, will then undergo a short holiday before joining up with Arsenal for pre-season training in early July.

The signing of the Chelsea man will likely be the first of at least three marquee signings for Arsenal this summer.

Discussing the imminent switch of Havertz to Emirates Stadium, journalist Dean Jones claims there is a disbelief at Arsenal that Chelsea are allowing one of their top stars to move across the capital.

Speaking ahead of Ornstein’s update, Jones discussed the move on the Ranks FC Ultras podcast.

“They are definitely trying to move this forward as quickly as they can because they can’t believe that such an opportunity is in front of them with Kai Havertz, it’s the kind of opportunity that doesn’t come along very offered. Will £60m be enough? I don’t think so, I think this could be rejected or re-negotiated,” Jones said.

“If they can get this up for another £5m they’ll get him. Havertz doesn’t want to stay at Chelsea, he really wants to join Arsenal. The only club who could crack this one is Bayern Munich.”

Havertz will leave Chelsea having scored 32 goals in 139 appearances. A player who operates just behind the front man, his signing will give Mikel Arteta another attacking option next season.

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