Ian Wright was complimentary of Kai Havertz’s form for Chelsea but wasn’t sure if he should start against Real Madrid, speaking on the Kelly and Wright show.
Havertz is finally entering into something of a purple patch in his short Blues career.
He has prominently featured in the last three games. A goalscoring display against Crystal Palace sandwiched between two Champions League ties with Porto.
The 21-year-old is currently relishing in a centre-forward role awarded to be him by Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea have been surrounded by chatter about their need for a new striker. For now, Havertz appears to be the best current alternative.
With some big games coming up for the Blues- Manchester City in the League Cup semi-final and Real Madrid in Europe- it will be intriguing to see if Tuchel intrusts the young German with that no.9 role again.
For all his good form, Wright felt that Chelsea should install a ruthless finisher ahead of Havertz for the ties with Madrid.
The Arsenal icon said: “He (Havertz) has come good but I always thought he would come good because of the calibre of player he is.
“I thought he was great against Palace because he went into areas where they just didn’t pick him up.
“He’s got a lot of ability. He’s able to cause problems there.
“A Real Madrid will be able to deal with that. They (Chelsea) are going to need, for me in this game, someone that can take that half chance, because Real Madrid knows how to win these games.
“They (Chelsea) are going to need someone to be really clinical on that day.”
Tuchel’s has other options in that area, but seems slightly reluctant to use them.
Olivier Giroud is a very good backup and his experience could be crucial when challenging Madrid’s crafty centre-backs.
Tammy Abraham can be effective and is still Chelsea’s top scorer this season.
His relationship with Tuchel, plus repeated injuries, seems to be holding him back however.