Chelsea supporters pleaded with Thomas Tuchel to use Kai Havertz from the off against Liverpool on Thursday night.
They have only been given glimpses of their young German prodigy under Tuchel, but demanded they saw him in full at Anfield later this week.
Havertz had been nursing a small injury since the end of January and only returned for a few minutes in the Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid last Tuesday.
Blues fans wanted their £140,000 per-week (Spotrac) summer signing to be starter instead of a substitute away to the Reds.
Many called for Havertz to be deployed at centre-forward or a false nine, spurred on after Tuchel insisted in his Manchester United post-match press conference that he could play there.
This position would not be completely alien for the 21-year-old.
He featured there for Bayer Leverkusen towards the end of his Bundesliga reign.
In fact, Havertz scored six goals in five domestic games when installed as Leverkusen’s centre-forward.
Unfortunately, the only time he’s been used there this season was away to Liverpool in late September, with less encouraging results.
This could still be a viable option for a Chelsea team who are in need of some ingenuity up front.
Their 0-0 draw at home to Manchester United last Sunday highlighted how badly they need a ruthless striker.
At present, none of Timo Werner, Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham fit that category.
It may take something slightly out of the box, like Havertz, to pick apart Liverpool’s limp defence.
The Chelsea Chronicle View
I seriously wouldn’t put it past Tuchel to try something a little bit different to try dislodge the Reds rear-guard.
Many people probably wouldn’t expect Havertz to start, let alone play as an auxiliary no.9.
A surprise attack might just be what the doctor ordered.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
