Arsenal's hunt for Varela threatens Havertz's spot in champion side

England's champion FC Arsenal has reportedly confirmed its interest in Portuguese U21 national player Gustavo Varela of Serie A club AC Monza, which also means bad news for German national striker Kai Havertz, who currently occupies the team's attacking centre, as Varela is considered one of Europe's most prolific strikers.

Long list of interested parties

Arsenal thus joins an already long list of clubs monitoring Varela. Alongside all the Italian top clubs, foremost SSC Napoli, the talent is in their sights. The London club sees the 21‑year‑old striker as a possible alternative to the current German national striker.

Varela shines in Serie A

This season Varela has already scored six goals in six Serie A matches, placing him joint second on the scorers' list alongside Roma striker Donyell Malen. Only Antonio Raimondo of Frosinone leads with seven goals. Additionally, he netted a double in the Coppa Italia against Avellino.

Monza's contract and market value

Monza signed Varela last summer for a transfer fee of €2.5 million from Benfica. The contract runs until 2030 and reportedly contains no buy‑back clause for Benfica. However, Benfica secured a matching right and a twenty‑percent sell‑on clause.

The 21‑year‑old Portuguese player comes from the youth system of Benfica rival Sporting and played from 2016 to 2022 for the junior team of PAOK Saloniki. For a training compensation of €100 000 he moved to record champions Benfica, but he did not make the jump to the senior team there and was loaned to Gil Vicente in 2025/26.

At Gil Vicente Varela scored seven goals and provided three assists in 33 league appearances. In Portugal's junior national teams he remains a reliable scorer: four goals in seven caps for the U21 side.

Monza's coach Ivan Juric is convinced: “He already scores a heap of goals and he still has enormous improvement potential in many areas.”

At Arsenal, under coach Mikel Arteta, the German national striker Kai Havertz occupies the attacking centre, but the Spanish coach is an outspoken fan of the former Leverkusen player. Rumours about a possible winter departure of the Swede Viktor Gyökeres fuel the news that Arsenal is also looking for reinforcements beyond Havertz.