Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has expressed his desire for Kai Havertz to show more of his talent in games ahead of this weekend’s match at home to Southampton.
Havertz is a favourite with Blues supporters after scoring the goal that won the Champions League final against Manchester City last season.
However, the left-footed attacker is still trying to show his peak form.
The 22-year-old should still be in the early stages of his career, but showed on a weekly basis at ex-club Bayer Leverkusen how effective he can be as a goalscoring and creative threat.
It’s been a slow start for him to the new campaign with one goal and one assist in nine appearances, so Tuchel has given a critical verdict about the £71million man. He’s suggested he needs to replicate on the pitch more of what he does in training.
“The [Champions League final] goal of course helped and he came back and showed that in training,” Tuchel said.
“He showed a different attitude, a mature way of training, a mature way of using his body.
“I’m not shy of saying that we expected to see more of this in the games… We want more from Kai, more from what he can deliver, because he is full of talent.”
Should Havertz start against Southampton?
Chelsea play Southampton at 3pm today in the Premier League and go into the fixture off the back of two consecutive defeats.
It’s hard to argue Havertz should be in the XI after his quiet midweek performance against Juventus. Also, Mason Mount has returned to the squad from injury.
The Blues need to be on the front foot against the Saints, though, so perhaps he should get one more chance prior to the international break.
Havertz price tag means it’s easy to forget he’s just 22
Any club is right to expect a player to make an instant impact for them if they splash out £70million-plus.
For context, Havertz moved to Stamford Bridge off the back of 46 goals and 31 assists in 150 appearances for Leverkusen. He’s rightfully considered one of the best young talents in the whole of Germany.
His iconic Champions League goal helps earn him some time, but he does need to impact this Chelsea team on a more regular basis.
Gary Neville previously suggested Havertz could follow in the footsteps of ex-Blues attacker Eden Hazard, which would be huge for the club.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Twitter account here.