Arsenal are in the market for a striker again.placeholder image
Arsenal are in the market for a striker again. | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Andrea Berta should launch an Arsenal transfer swoop that would turn heads across Europe.
The 26-year-old missed a chunk of the 2024/25 campaign with a hamstring issue but looked to be in fine form during pre-season with impressive performances against Newcastle United and Athletic Bilbao. Havertz was set to compete with new signing Viktor Gyokeres for the striker role this season with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta relishing the competition for the position having struggled for options over the past 12 months.
The Athletic reports that Arsenal are now ‘actively exploring the transfer market’ to find a replacement for Havertz. It’s not known how serious the knee injury is, with assessments at an early stage, but the signs do appear to be pointing to a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Arsenal should target Premier League veteran after Kai Havertz injury
Arsenal have already spent £55 million on Gyokeres and £52 million on ex Chelsea man Noni Madueke this summer. Those splurges, combined with spend on Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Cristhian Mosquera, have put Arsenal in a place where selling is now more important than buying.
That’s not good news when it comes to recruiting a new proven Premier League striker. However, there is one free agent that could fit the bill and it would be an outlandish transfer swoop from sporting director Andrea Berta.
Arsenal need the replacement for Havertz to be cheap, not injury prone and proven in the top flight. Whoever comes in cannot find themselves on the treatment table alongside the German international and, given that Gyokeres has no Premier League experience, it needs to be someone who can help the marquee signing transition.
Jamie Vardy wanted by European giants
One striker who ticks all those boxes is the veteran Jamie Vardy. The 38-year-old is available as a free agent following his release from Leicester City, meaning a move wouldn’t cost the London outfit a penny.
While Vardy is already nearing 40, his injury record is impressive. He only missed three Premier League games for Leicester City last season and racked up nearly 3,000 minutes. There was a brief time on the sidelines with a knee injury over the 2023/24 campaign but, over the previous three seasons, that is the only notable absence.
The striker knows how to score goals too, with 145 strikes in the Premier League to his name. Even in a season that was dismal for the Foxes last time out, Vardy scored nine times in the league.
The talisman won’t need to start every game for Arsenal, playing second fiddle to Gyokeres but he’d be a no-risk option to have on the bench. The Swedish international looked inexperienced against Manchester United last weekend and could also benefit from learning Vardy’s bulldoggish ways.
If Arsenal are to make the head-turning move, they must act quickly. The Daily Mail reports that Celtic, Rangers and Napoli are all weighing up a move for the player, who looks set to return to European football one way or another.
In other news, What Eberechi Eze and Adam Wharton just did in Crystal Palace training amid Tottenham and Man Utd links.
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