Since Todd Boehly completed his purchase of Chelsea for £4.25b in May 2022, they have spent an outrageous sum of money on bringing in new players to the club. In total, they have spent £1.1bn on transfers into Stamford Bridge.
This has included high-profile acquisitions such as Raheem Sterling on a five-year contract who cost £50m from Premier League rivals Manchester City, and Frenchman Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig, who cost £52m.
The Blues have also signed some lesser-known talents, who they hope to nurture over the years and eventually become key players at first-team level. This includes Lesley Ugochukwu, who joined from Rennes for £23.2m and signed a seven-year contract.
One of the best players in the Premier League, Cole Palmer, also signed for Chelsea this summer, for £40m from City. The signing was a bit of a gamble, but that has certainly paid off, with the 21-year-old scoring 20 goals and registering nine assists in 30 league games.
Of course, all these incoming meant Chelsea needed to make room in their squad over the last two seasons. The likes of Mason Mount left the club last summer, to sign for Manchester United for £55m. However, there was one other major sale in the 2023 summer window, which the Blues could well regret signing off on.
Kai Havertz’s season in numbers
The player in question here is Kai Havertz, who joined Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal last summer for a fee of £65m. It took some time for Havertz to find his feet since moving to the Emirates Stadium, but has grown into his role at the club and turned into one of the Gunners’ best players this season.
Despite a slow start to life as an Arsenal player, Havertz has 12 goals and six assists in 35 Premier League appearances, as well as scoring once in the Champions League.
Havertz started off playing in the centre of midfield, fulfilling the role left vacant by Granit Xhaka, who left the club in the summer. However, he has more recently found a place leading the line for Arsenal, and has been very successful in recent weeks.
In fact, the Germany international is Arsenal’s second-most productive player in terms of goal output in the Premier League so far this season. His 18 goal involvements are only bettered by Bukayo Saka, with the Gunners’ number seven having 25 in total, as per Sofascore.
Chelsea fans may well but frustrated at Havertz’s form in his first season Arsenal being so impressive. He is already only 19 goals behind his Chelsea tally of 32 in 91 fewer games than what he played at the Bridge.
Kai Havertz's transfer value at Arsenal in 2024
The £65m that Arsenal paid Chelsea to bring Havertz to the Emirates Stadium last summer has, so far, proved a successful investment. Aside from his superb performances in recent weeks, the 24-year-old’s market value has greatly risen since the transfer.
The Germany international, who has 15 goals in 44 games for his country so far, is now worth a whopping £86m as per CIES Football Observatory, and he is one of the most valuable players in Arsenal’s squad. Indeed, only Bukayo Saka, at £171m, and captain Martin Odegaard, at £128m, are valued higher than Havertz, with Declan Rice, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli equal to Havertz’s value.
Incredibly, not only is Havertz the joint-third most valuable player in the current Arsenal squad, but he is equally as valuable as Palmer. The Englishman is currently tied at the top of the Golden Boot chart with former teammate Erling Haaland and has certainly been Chelsea’s best player this season.
However, he is no more valuable than Havertz, and the former Chelsea man would actually be the joint-most valuable player in their current squad had he stayed, along with Palmer and Enzo Fernandez.
Havertz’s signing has certainly been a good purchase for the Gunners, with pundit Adrian Clarke describing his recent performances as “magic”, following a stellar 6-0 win away to Sheffield United in March.
Chelsea fans and Boehly may well wish that this was one deal that did not happen last summer; after all, they have been struggling in front of goal, Palmer aside. Perhaps Havertz could have been the man to help them find the back of the net more often this season.
Chelsea must rue selling £7m titan who's now worth more than Mudryk
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ByEthan LambApr 29, 2024