Jonathan Tah told Sport1 that Chelsea need to show patience towards his long term Bayer Leverkusen colleague Kai Havertz.
The German duo played 118 times together for Leverkusen across a highly productive four-year spell.
Tah remains at the Bundesliga club but has been watching his footballing friend from afar from the moment Havertz made the major move to England.
“I’ve been watching the Chelsea games regularly since then”, Tah admitted.
“It’s super interesting because Timo Werner and Antonio Rudiger also play there. I know what qualities Kai has.
“The game there is different than in Germany. There is a lot of talk in such phases: He has to do this and that because he has cost so and so much.
“But that’s nonsense. Give the boy time, then he will show his enormous qualities at Chelsea too. Kai will convince all the critics over there!”
Havertz still has a long way to go in proving his doubters wrong. It’s been a difficult period for the 21-year-old who has the hopes of nation riding upon his shoulders.
His £71m (BBC Sport) deal with Chelsea was meant to signal a new German era for the Premier League.
Such fantasies have not climatised as of yet. Havertz’s last league goal came on the 17th of October and has since only started 11 times across all competitions.
He did manage to bag a League Cup hattrick against Barnsley in September, the same side Chelsea face later today in the FA Cup.
However, it doesn’t look like Havertz will be able to recreate his one moment of real magic for the Blues.
Pictures from yesterday’s training did not seem to feature the young midfielder, who also missed matches away to Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United through a minor injury.
How long can Chelsea wait for Havertz to come true? With their track record for managers, not long at all.
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I think Tah shares a very common opinion that Havertz requires more leeway than most.
He has been hit with injuries and covid and is still adapting to a whole new walk of life at such a young age, all with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Hopefully, Thomas Tuchel can wave his magic wand and get a spell out of his fellow countryman.
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