COMMENT: Kai Havertz and Arsenal. A year ago this would be impossible. Unimaginable. Chelsea selling a frontliner to the Gunners? And the player, himself, wanting to make the move? Oh how the tables have turned...
Remember Willian? Petr Cech? Arsenal were the club where Blues went to retire. Cast offs cut loose. No longer good enough for Chelsea. No longer able to compete at the level Chelsea fans demand. But still players worthy of a place in an Arsenal XI. But now? Today? After Jorginho's defection in the final minutes of the winter market, we now have news of a second Chelsea Champions League winner ready to jump ship and row across town.
For this column it's crazy. Madness. A decision that only cloaks the mess of last season. Yes, Havertz was inconsistent last term. Yes, for all his potential, he's yet to deliver regularly at Premier League level. But we're talking about a player who has only just turned 24. A player who attracted an investment of £75m by the previous owner. And one, who only two years ago proved the matchwinner in a Champions League final.
Havertz is an asset. A player now three years into the club's investment. And with his best years far, far ahead of him. As we say, he only turned 24 this week and he's come off the back of a season which featured no less than four different managers in the dugout. Of course he's going to be inconsistent. Of course he's going to struggle. Yet, Havertz still finished the club's equal leading scorer. And he did it being played out of position. But still Chelsea are ready to sell..
As mentioned, this is a decision to cloak mistakes made by this new management team. Havertz a scapegoat not only for the instability brought by the reckless firing and hiring of the top brass, but also the poor squad planning by those in charge.
Chelsea need to sell. Even with Mason Mount to rake in £50-60m from his expected move to Manchester United. Chelsea need to sell. If Arsenal are willing to get close to the £75m Roman Abramovich paid Bayer Leverkusen for Havertz in 2020, Chelsea will snap their hand off. This isn't about ability. Nor potential. It's about Financial Fair Play (FFP) and the same lack of forethought - or even know-how - which resulted in a squad of 33 first teamers and the need to get the Chippys in to expand the locker room.
This shouldn't happen. Not for a club of Chelsea's status. Management shouldn't have allowed themselves to get into a position where they're having to encourage the sale of a talent like Havertz just to ease FFP pressure. A player as good as Havertz should never be sacrificed like this.
But he is. And he's happy to go along with the ride. On paper, swapping a bottom ten club for a title contender is understandable. But this isn't any old club. This is Chelsea. European champions just two years ago. But now a move to Arsenal is regarded as a step up.
The tables really have turned. Bayern Munich have made Havertz aware of their interest. Real Madrid, where former Blue Toni Rudiger talked up his arrival before the end of the season, have also been mentioned as a destination. But it's Arsenal who have stepped in. And such is their status now, Havertz is showing no signs of hesitation. Bayern and Real may be in contact, but he's not hanging around. If Arsenal want him, Havertz will go.
And Chelsea will regret this. You cannot judge any Chelsea player on the back of last season. Certainly none of '21 Champions League winners. Arsenal know this. As does their former striker Thierry Henry. The Frenchman happily comparing Havertz to his former Gunners teammate Robin van Persie last season.
“He reminds me sometimes, a little, of Robin back to goal the way he can hold the ball," declared the Frenchman. "Robin van Persie was very good with his left foot, the touch was always immaculate he tried to bring people along."
In the parlance of Todd Boehly and Bedad Eghbali, Kai Havertz is an 'asset'. An appreciating asset who Chelsea now seem hellbent on handing his best years over to a direct London rival. It may not be due to form. Nor ability. But there are reasons for this decision and this column would argue these reasons begin and end with the poor, poor squad management of those responsible for transfers this past season. Boehly, Paul Winstanley, Laurence Stewart, they've all played their part that has led to the situation where a player of genuine world class potential will be leaving this summer.
A year ago talk of Kai Havertz to Arsenal was unimaginable. And even now, the thought is crazy. But this is the new reality of today's Chelsea.
