Tuchel expects Chelsea star to score more goals after ‘stepping up’ recently

Add as preferred source on Google

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel played down the notion that Kai Havertz has been inconsistent in terms of performances.

The 22-year-old has already proved multiple times, including in the recent Club World Cup final, that he can be a big-game player and a difference-maker for Chelsea.

Looking at it from a wider picture, however, he has arguably yet to reach the expectations since he arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020.

This season, he has only scored two goals in the Premier League (six in all competitions) and registered only one assist.

Tuchel admitted that the final product could be much better, but in terms of performance, he is happy with the Germany international.

“If we isolate maybe [in terms of] goalscoring, yeah, we expect more, for sure,” the manager said about Havertz in Friday’s press conference.

“But consistency in terms of what he’s giving to the team, I think he’s stepped up already — he is pretty consistent.

“We can see a lot of intensity and physicality in his game.

“He relies more on his strength, his body, runs off the ball. He’s focusing more on these which is a good thing.

“I think he’s in the process of becoming more reliable and consistent.

“Of course, he is an attacking player — he wants more goals, we want more goals. In this part of the game, he can improve.

“He can be more precise and uses his shooting technique a bit better.”

While, as Tuchel pointed out, better finishing would significantly improve Havertz’s game, it’s arguably far from being the main problem.

The former Leverkusen ace has one of the lowest expected goals and assists among Chelsea attackers, according to Statsbomb (via FBRef) which suggests he struggles to get into goalscoring positions this season.

Having had to play a deeper role due to Romelu Lukaku’s arrival certainly plays a part, but even Havertz himself would say that he has not at his best performance-wise.

Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.