'Know for a fact': Eddie Newton says Chelsea have admired 21-year-old for a 'long time'
Eddie Newton admitted that Chelsea had been huge fans of Kai Havertz way before they signed him last summer, speaking The Football Show.
Havertz arrived at Stamford Bridge with a hefty price tag on his shoulders, not to mention the expectation of world football hanging around his neck.
Life in South West London has generally moved like traffic in rush hour for the talented German.
Up until the past couple of months, that is, where his gears have finally been changed and the motor is purring.
Last night was a prime example of where Havertz is currently at in his Chelsea career.
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He was absolutely superb during the Blues 2-0 Champions League win over Real Madrid and deserved more out of the match than simply a pat on the back.
The 21-year-old hit the bar twice, was elegant in possession and dogged out of it.
It felt like everything had finally clicked into place for the young man from Bayer Leverkusen.
Newton- assistant manager during Chelsea’s 2012 Champion’s League success- believed this will be a relief to the Blues, who have invested a lot of time into Havertz.
“I know for a fact that Chelsea have been looking at Havertz for a long, long time and have a big admiration for him,” he said.
“They finally got him. Obviously, everything doesn’t go to plan sometimes when you arrive at a new club.
“Arriving at a big club like Chelsea, playing in a big-league like the Premier League, it’s difficult sometimes.
“Everyone has to remember; this isn’t the natural position he’s playing in.
“He’s playing as a striker. He’s more used to playing as an eight and driving from midfield.
“There’s lots of conations why it didn’t go so well in the beginning. Now we are seeing the player everyone knows at Chelsea. I think he’s only going to get better and better.”
Thomas Tuchel can be credited to the transformation in Havertz. He has been using his compatriot regularly in a centre-forward role.
Although not prolific in that post, he certainly puts his weight around and links up play delightfully.
This might not be a permanent solution and it probably won’t solve Chelsea’s chance conversion problems.
What it has solved is fitting Havertz into a system, something that Frank Lampard struggled to achieve.
