‘Can see the potential’: ESPN pundit says 22-year-old Chelsea player who looked ‘weak’ is getting better

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Nedum Onuoha claims that Chelsea’s Kai Havertz is starting to get better after a slow start to life at Stamford Bridge.

Havertz, 22, has already produced two historical moments during his opening 18 months as a Blues player.

First of all, he scored the winner in last season’s Champions League final against Manchester City. He followed that up last Saturday by netting the winner in the Club World Cup final against Palmeiras, too.

The German attacker is an important part of the club’s history, but it’s been far from plain sailing since his £71million transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020.

In fact, 15 goals and 13 assists in 73 Chelsea appearances is an underwhelming start to his time at the Bridge.

He’s a supremely talented individual with a great first touch, quick speed, intelligent movement and ability in the air.

However, Blues manager Thomas Tuchel is trying to unlock the Havertz that can perform to his best on a consistent basis.

ESPN pundit Onuoha has described Chelsea’s youngster as “weak” and “soft” when he first moved to English football. He feels that there are signs he’s improving and adapting, though.

“You can see the potential in terms of him understanding what it is to be playing in the Premier League week in, week out,” Onuoha told ESPN.

“He scored the winner in the Champions League final and the Club World Cup final. There is some value there because those are two huge moments where he’s stepped up and made the difference.

“I think he has come a long way. For me, it felt like a really slow start to begin with. He just seemed a bit weak, soft, wasn’t quite getting up to the pace of the game straight away. I think he’s starting to get a better feel for it.

“He feels better when other people around him are doing better as well. I don’t think he’s at the stage yet where he can just be the one that has a spectacular game. Maybe his style of play means he’ll never be there, but he’s still a fantastic player.”

Time to kick on at Chelsea

Havertz should have the kind of momentum behind him from the weekend to really kick on.

The versatile forward can play anywhere across the attack but looks particularly dangerous when he can get close to central striker Romelu Lukaku and interchange him.

He should be under the spotlight like so many of the club’s attackers to prove he has a long-term future at the Bridge.

Of course, popping up with killer moments in cup finals is going to make him a cult hero within the fanbase. It’s obvious that he needs do more, though.

Interestingly, Chelsea’s first-team assistant Zsolt Low picked out Havertz as someone that really impressed during the Club World Cup tournament in Abu Dhabi. He’s now got to take that form into domestic and European games.

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