Report: Abramovich couldn’t ‘stomach’ seeing Kai Havertz sign for anyone other than Chelsea

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Roman Abramovich would not have been able to accept if Kai Havertz had become a world class player anywhere else aside from at Chelsea.

Matt Law of the Telegraph stated that the Chelsea owner was willing to fork out £71m (BBC Sport) for the 21-year-old because he could not ‘stomach’ the thought of him flourishing elsewhere.

Havertz was understandably wanted throughout Europe after a brilliant Bundesliga campaign with Bayer Leverkusen in 2019/20. This turned out to be his farewell tour after the Blues captured his expensive signature last September.

All has not transpired the way both player or club would have imagined. Havertz has failed to hit the ground running and is yet to truly explode upon the English scene.

Some put this down to Frank Lampard’s inability to unlock his potential or discover his best position.

With Thomas Tuchel now in charge, there is a great expectation upon the new manager to get the best out of Havertz.

Law also stated that Abramovich ‘will not like Havertz being viewed as a waste of money’, piling on the pressure for Tuchel to retrieve instant results from the young midfielder.

The main issue Lampard faced was fitting him into his luxurious side. He attempted to play Havertz in a variety of roles without achieving any kind standout success.

Havertz himself openly admitted he was best suited to playing as a no.10 (via HaytersTV) shortly after arriving at Chelsea.

This was largely overlooked by Lampard as he has deployed him in central midfield, on the right of a front three and even as a centre-forward.

It is now the job of Tuchel to transform him into the star who scored 18 goals in his final season at Leverkusen.

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I’m not suggesting that Chelsea’s poor run of form is down to Havertz, but I believe his troubles have rubbed off on the team.

You can clearly tell he’s a wonderful footballer with bags of talent. He just needs a system and a manager that suit his style.

Thankfully, I think Tuchel can achieve that. I would push Havertz further forward, either just behind or playing off the striker, and relinquish his defensive duties.