Schwarzer says Chelsea need to build their whole team around 21-year-old talent now

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Mark Schwarzer believes that Chelsea need to make Kai Havertz their main man if he is to reach the levels achieved at Bayer Leverkusen.

Speaking on Stadium Astro, the former Chelsea goalkeeper felt his old team weren’t getting enough from their expensive signing because of his status in the side.

Schwarzer admitted he’d watched plenty of the 21-year-old whilst he was lighting up the Bundesliga, noticing the difference in his roles between Leverkusen and Chelsea.

“Kai Havertz was the main man at Leverkusen last season,” the Australian said. “He came out of himself more and dominated games more for longer periods of time.

“I get the feeling he needs to be that focal point, focal player. Needs to be the biggest star player.

“Everything needs to go through him, that’s not happening at Chelsea. He’s not even in the game for most of the time.”

Havertz really was the shining example in Germany. During his final season, he scored 18 goals and assisted a further nine in 45 games, alongside captaining his boyhood club on several occasions.

Dietmar Hamann gave an insight into his quality before he signed for Chelsea, saying on Sky Sports that Havertz’s reminded him of a ‘young Michael Ballack’.

The Blues lumped on Europe’s most prestigious talent at the time, but the move so far has largely been a disappoint.

Being Chelsea’s ‘biggest star’ will not be easy. £45m (Sky Sports) Timo Werner, £40m (Sky Sports) Hakim Ziyech or £58m (BBC Sport) Christian Pulisic may have a different point of view. As will Mason Mount, who has been the standout performer over the past few months.

It is still not clear where his best position lies. Frank Lampard has deployed him in a variety of areas without any sustained success.

At Leverkusen, Havertz mainly played as an attacking midfielder, but he also thrived as a centre-forward or off the right flank.

Lampard needs to find a way of unlocking Havertz’s potential soon or his German legacy will be tarnished.

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For a player with such a price tag, you would expect a team to be structured around them. Havertz has been unable to stamp his authority on games, often looking unsure of what he is meant to be doing.

If Chelsea work around his skills sets, rather than trying to accommodate him in somewhere, I think they will benefit from it.