GM. This is the Free Transfer, that random twenty dollar bill you find in your back pocket, months after losing it.

Today’s slate:

• Chelsea firesale turns into wildfire 🔥 

• Havertz to Arsenal confirmed 🇩🇪

• United make a second bid for Mount 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 

CHELSEA FIRESALE TURNS INTO WILDFIRE 🔥

It’s been a crazy 3 hours for Chelsea fans. 5 player sales, & more on the way. Todd Boehly doesn’t mess about in the transfer market.

What you need to know:

Chelsea have sold 5 players this morning 💸 

This is not a joke. Chelsea have finalized the sales of 5 players in the span of ~3 hours. Let’s check them out ⤵️ 

The Saudi boys. Koulibaly, Ziyech, & Mendy have joined the Saudi Pro League on permanent transfers… and it sounds like former Chelsea academy starlet Callum Hudson-Odoi could be joining them shortly.

These deals have been in the works for a week or so but were finalized this morning.

Mateo Kovacic has joined Manchester City for £30MM. He seems to be the replacement for Ilkay Gundogan, who looks likely to leave the club for Barcelona this summer.

Kai Havertz has signed with Arsenal for £65MM. The former German wunderkind has had a tough 3 years at Chelsea. It’s a gamble for the Gunners.

Yes, all 5 of those players were sold today

That is a madness by Boehly, who needs to generate big money from sales this summer for FFP.

Even outside of the fishy Saudi deals, £65MM for Havertz is a great deal for Chelsea. Mason mount next for £50-70MM?

HAVERTZ TO ARSENAL CONFIRMED 🇩🇪 

Arteta’s got his man, but at what price?

There is optimism that Kai Havertz could thrive in Arsenal’s free-flowing system as a #9 or an attacking midfielder. That being said, he struggled A LOT during his three year stint at Chelsea when leading the line.

Can he rediscover his form at Arsenal under Arteta? Or are Chelsea going to be laughing all the way to the bank with that £65MM? Find out more about his possible fit in Arsenal’s set-up here!

Boehly bringing home the money 💸 

Recouping £65MM from the €100MM outlay that Chelsea invested into Havertz just three years ago is great business by Todd Boehly. But was it a bit naive to sell to a direct London rival?

We’re not talking about Jorginho, who is past his prime (or Cech, Willian, David Luiz). This is a clearly-talented player about to enter his prime years. Sure, he has not fully lived up to expectations at Chelsea, but we have seen flashes of his brilliance (albeit small ones) in his 3 years at the club. He scored the only goal in their Champions League final win vs. Manchester City for crying out loud!

Maybe Boehly will look like an evil genius, or maybe Havertz will become the player that Chelsea had hoped he would, when they paid €100MM for him back in 2020.

For Chelsea’s sake, let’s hope not. Nothing worse than your former player perform for a rival…

UNITED MAKE A SECOND BID FOR MOUNT 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 

This is probably just getting annoying for United fans. Mount only wants United. United want Mount. Chelsea’s price tag is £70MM but United aren’t going near that (yet).

Negotiations so far ⚖️ 

Back in early May, David Ornstein reported that Mount preferred a move to Manchester United this summer. From there, it seemed clear that United wanted him, and he would go there— eventually.

Chelsea immediately set a public £70MM price on Mount, whose contract expires next summer.

The first bid

Earlier this week, Manchester United bid £40MM for Mason Mount, which was immediately rejected out-of-hand.

The second bid

Today, United had a second bid of £45MM+£5MM rejected, which was immediately counter-offered by Chelsea for £60MM+£5MM.

It seems like the two are inching towards a deal, but with the sale of United still uncertain, they have a (relatively) limited transfer budget for this summer at around £120MM. They’re not able to just throw the money on the table like in most years. However, this one will surely be done soon.

Gaffer’s Bet 🃏 

A deal will be struck for around £60MM in by this time next week. 

Memes for your soul

Lots of action in these weeks… teams are trying to get set up before the July pre-season starts. Expect tons more movement in the coming days!

À demain,

—The Gaffer