Chelsea agreed deals worth £30million for Mateo Kovacic to join Manchester City and £65million for Kai Havertz to join Arsenal, but rejected a second offer from Manchester United for Mason Mount.
On a frantic working day, United made a second offer of £45m, plus £5m in add-ons for Mount, which Chelsea immediately countered with a request for a bid worth of £65 million.
This represents a drop in Mount’s initial valuation of £70million by Chelsea and has raised some more optimism that a deal could eventually be negotiated, but United are still a long way from Chelsea’s asking price.
United’s first offer for Mount – which was immediately rejected out of hand – was for £40million and it now remains to be seen whether or not the Old Trafford club return with a third offer.
Chelsea have agreed to sell Kovacic to City for £25m, plus £5m in easily doable add-ons, while a deal has been struck for Havertz to join Arsenal in a deal worth around £65m, the structure of which will mean Mikel Arteta’s side are paying over £60m, with the rest being add-ons.
With Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly set to move to Saudi Arabia for £8m and £17m respectively, Chelsea hope to collect over £100m in inbound fees by the end of the month, although the future de Mount is not quickly resolved.
Kovacic has already agreed personal terms with City and will now undergo a medical before signing with the Treble winners, while Havertz is keen to complete his move to Arsenal.
Croatia international Kovacic will follow Jorginho, who joined Arsenal in January, and N’Golo Kante, whose move to Saudi club Al-Ittihad has now been confirmed, through Chelsea’s exit door.
Kovacic was part of Chelsea’s winning 2021 Champions League squad with Havertz, who scored the winning goal against Manchester City in the final.
Ziyech agreed to join Al Nassr, with Koulibaly set to move to Al-Hilal. Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is also expected to join Saudi club Al Ahli and complete a number of sales before the end of the month and the accounting year will give Chelsea a huge boost.
With over £100million in transfer fees already all but guaranteed, Chelsea could double that figure by the end of the summer, with Manchester United now considering a third offer for Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic likely to leave.
Representatives of Callum Hudson-Odoi will meet Chelsea in the next fortnight with the winger’s future undecided after spending last season on loan at Bayer Leverkusen.
Confirming Kante’s exit, Chelsea co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “N’Golo’s impact and influence during his time at Chelsea cannot be overstated. His tireless performances in the midfield on the pitch contributed to several trophy wins and guaranteed him a place in club history.We wish him well as he embarks on the next chapter of his career.
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