Arsenal sign Havertz from Chelsea, Spurs raid Leicester for Maddison

Paris, France

Arsenal on Wednesday signed German attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Chelsea on a "long-term contract".

Neither club disclosed a fee but British media said Arsenal were paying Chelsea 65 million pounds or 75 million euros.

He is Arsenal's first signing of the summer but the British press reported the club had agreed a 105 million-pound fee for West Ham's England midfielder Declan Rice.

Havertz joined Chelsea in 2020 from Bayer Leverkusen. He made 139 appearances in three seasons, scoring 32 times, including the only goal in the 2021 UEFA Champions League final victory over Manchester City.

Arsenal were runners up in the Premier League last season while Chelsea, rebuilding their squad, were 12th.

"The mentality in the Arsenal squad is very high and you can feel that. That was one of the reasons why it has been so hard to play against Arsenal recently," Havertz told the Arsenal web site.

"The aim is to win trophies and I'm going to give everything to do that."

He posted a farewell message to Chelsea on social media.

He said he was writing "with a heavy heart...saying goodbye to the club that has become my second home, and to the incredible fans who have supported me throughout this amazing journey."

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: "Kai is a player of top quality. He has great versatility and is an intelligent player. He will bring a huge amount of extra strength to our midfield and variety to our play."

Spurs swoop for Maddison

 Elsewhere, Arsenal rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday completed the signing of creative midfielder James Maddison from relegated Leicester in a deal worth 40 million pounds (46.3m euros) plus add-ons.

The 26-year-old England international signed a five-year deal.

Maddison began his career with Coventry City before joining Norwich City in January, 2016. He moved to Leicester in 2018 and in five seasons made 203 appearances, scored 55 goals and helped win the FA Cup. He scored 10 goals last season as Leicester were relegated from the Premier League

He has three England caps.

Maddison's creativity will boost a Spurs squad that has lacked a player in his mould since Christian Eriksen left in 2020.

He is the club's third signing of the summer. Winger Dejan Kulusevski's loan switch from Juventus was made permanent and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario joined from another Italian club, Empoli.

Speculation continues to swirl around Tottenham's star striker Harry Kane who is entering the last year of his contract.

Bayern Munich have agreed personal terms with the England captain, German daily Bild reported Wednesday, but an initial 70-million-euro bid was rejected by Tottenham.

Kane's camp is believed to have approved the move, but Bayern need an agreement on a fee with Tottenham to seal the transfer.

Bayern submitted an offer of 70 million euros plus add-ons for Kane, according to Bild, while Spurs are demanding at least 100 million euros to part with their talismanic striker.