North London Club sides Arsenal and Spurs made big summer transfer strides on Wednesday when both of them sign made major signings from respective English clubs.
Arsenal got their first signing of the summer by unveiling Kai Havertz after a season where they painfully finished second behind title-winning Manchester City after leading the Premier League title for over 200 days.
The Gunners eventually finished in second place with a huge points difference between themselves and Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning side. The Gunners anyways confirmed a return to the UEFA Champions League after over five years away, and manager Arteta Mikel Arteta has immediately swung into action by making summer signings to strengthen a side whose Premier League title contention was scuttled by a combination of injury problems and a loss of form by its key players.
Arsenal were linked with a move for West Ham United Declan Rice and Kai Havertz from Chelsea, and it was the German attacker that Arsenal first scooped on long-term contracts from Chelsea. The deal is expected to be followed immediately by Declan Rice, which has submitted a third bid worth £100 million plus another £5 million in add-ons for.
The North Londoners will pay £65M to Chelsea for the 24-year-old, who has signed a deal to be at the Emirates Stadium till 2028. After joining Chelsea from Bayern Leverkusen in 2020, Havertz scored 19 goals in 91 Premier League appearances for the Blues, with his most important contribution being the UEFA Champions League winning goal against Manchester City in the 2021 final.
Elsewhere, Tottenham made their second signing of the summer after confirming the recruitment of English midfielder James Maddison from relegated Leicester City on a £40 million deal and a five-year contract.
The 26-year-old joins Spurs after Tottenham Hotspur brought in Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Serie A side Empoli on Tuesday. This is Spurs’ third signing of the summer after making Dejan Kulusevski’s loan deal permanent in addition to the two new signings.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
