Chelsea manager Frank Lampard says new signing Kai Havertz is different to him and Michael Ballack as he hinted at his plan for the Germany international.
The 21-year-old has been training with the Blues since his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen five days ago.
Havertz ended last season as Leverkusen’s scorer with 18 goals, along with nine assists, across all competitions.
Those numbers would remind you of Lampard’s record as a player, although Lampard himself does not agree with the comparisons.
He told Chelsea’s official website: “It is very easy to make those comparisons.
“I know he is hungry to score goals and make assists so I have already had those conversations with him, but I do think we are quite different in our styles.”
Lampard argued that Havertz has played in a more advanced position than the centre-midfielder role he used to play in his playing days.
The Chelsea manager also insinuated that Havertz could be deployed as a No.10 or a wide player at Chelsea, although his versatility means he will be a valuable attacker that could cover different roles.
“I liked to come from deep as a midfield player”, he explained.
“A lot of Kai’s really good play in the last few seasons as he has broken through at Leverkusen has been in a slightly advanced no.10 role or slightly wider areas or more in a striker kind of area of late.”
Apart from Lampard, Havertz has also been compared to former German Chelsea player Ballack, but the Chelsea boss stressed that Havertz has his own unique style.
“Which really excites me to work with him, in terms of him going forward,” he added.
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