Arsenal and Chelsea continue to be some distance apart in their valuation of Kai Havertz.
The Gunners are interested in the forward and Mikel Arteta wants to bring him to the Emirates Stadium, football.london understands, to bolster his attack. Many have turned their nose up at the prospect of seeing the German international in red after his lacklustre time at Stamford Bridge, though the move makes sense.
Alongside an astonishing statistic that puts him at the level of Erling Haaland and his versatility to play across a number of positions means he ticks a number of boxes for sporting director Edu Gaspar.
As football.london covered last week, Havertz demonstrates tremendous physical work, great intensity and application to his play. When envisioning Havertz as part of Arteta's side next season, it's easy to see why the Gunners are pursuing a move.
Despite this, they are yet to finalise a deal with Chelsea. An opening bid of £55million including add-ons has already been turned down by their London rivals, meaning they will have to cough up close to the £70million valuation of the forward if they are to land him.
Fortunately, personal terms are no issue with Havertz understood to be keen on working with Arteta. Alongside their moves for Declan Rice and Romeo Lavia, Arsenal now must flex their negotiating skills to finalise a deal with Chelsea
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And to assist them in doing so the north Londoners can benefit from a loophole in Chelsea's fragile financial situation. Todd Boehly's side have spent over £600million on new recruits in the last two windows, recording a £121million loss.
This has left Mauricio Pochettino embracing an oversized squad and the club being forced to balance the books. The money spent on transfers and new players' wages is spread over an extended period of time - known as amortisation - but the total amount will still leave them close to the maximum loss of £105million over three years.
One way that Chelsea have been tipped to ensure they do not breach any FFP rules is selling players before June 30. Any sales concluded prior to this date will be included in their financial accounts for 2022/23.
This could work in Arsenal's favour. In hindsight, if the Gunners offered £60million for Havertz as a take it or leave it, Chelsea will be faced with a major decision to make. That amount of money could go a long way in making sure they are still within the lines of regulations but would mean they have lost £10million on Havertz.
Amid interest from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, Arsenal will be hoping to reach a compromise with Chelsea sooner rather than later. Early signs in the transfer market suggest that Arteta is aiming to get the majority of his work done before pre-season starts in July.
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