Kai Havertz is closing in on a deal to move to Arsenal – how did it come to this?
There was so much promise and excitement when he signed, and despite some good moments he’s just not lived up to it. But it’s not just a question of poor performances which is making Chelsea want to sell him – otherwise Arsenal wouldn’t be paying a similar amount to what we did in 2020.
This interesting piece on the transfer by Liam Twomey reveals that part of the issue at Chelsea was Havertz’s contract. He was on huge wages, as arranged by the previous ownership. Todd Boehly and co. wanted the attacker to accept a wage reduction, putting him on a lower base salary with more bonuses and incentives: “Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital made it clear they wanted Havertz either to re-sign on a lower, more incentive-based salary or they would consider offers for him in this window,” as Twomey puts it.
Perhaps predictably Havertz declined, and it was from that moment that he was on the market. That’s how it’s come to this – where it goes next is anyone’s guess.