Chelsea‘s attacking rebuild is set to continue with Bayer Leverkusen forward Kai Havertz expected to join in a deal which could be worth up to £70m.
Although the Premier League transfer window doesn’t officially open for business until July 27, the Blues have wasted little time in adding to their squad.
In February, Chelsea secured the services of Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech for £36m before tying up a £47m move for Timo Werner from RB Leipzig last month.
As with the Ziyech and Werner deals there is plenty of excitement surrounding the seemingly imminent arrival of Havertz given his reputation as one of the best young players in world football.
Havertz has been strongly linked with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Liverpool amongst others in the past but Chelsea appear to have a free run at him in the Covid-disrupted economy with their ability to spend following a year of transfer inactivity, unmatched by other major clubs.
Although Frank Lampard will be eager to recruit some defensive assets over the summer, there is no doubt that sporting director Marina Granovskaia is assembling a formidable-looking attack for the Chelsea boss.
The key statistics
Leverkusen have an excellent track record when it comes to identifying and developing young talent as is the case with Havertz who joined their academy at the age of 11 after starting out with second-tier outfit Alemannia Aachen.
Around six years later, Havertz became the club’s youngest ever Bundesliga debutant, featuring as a substitute in a 2-1 defeat to Werder Bremen in October 2016 at the age of 17 years and 126 days. From that point onwards, Havertz has virtually been a fixture in the first-team.
Kai Havertz at a glance
Bayer Leverkusen: 148 apps, 45 goals
Germany: 7 apps, 1 goal
Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2018-19
Bundesliga Player of the Month: April, May (2019), May (2020)
Havertz ended his breakthrough season as a 17-year-old with a very respectable four goals and five assists from 24 Bundesliga games. The following season, Havertz made 30 league appearances, contributing three goals and eight assists.
It was in 2018-19, though, that Havertz sharpened his skillset and became a consistent supplier of goals for Leverkusen under the tutelage of Dutch tactician Peter Bosz. Although Havertz’s assist numbers dipped from eight to three, he more than doubled his goal output from the previous two campaigns combined with 17. Only Robert Lewandowski (22) and Paco Alcacer (18) outscored the 19-year-old.
Havertz wasn’t as prolific in 2019-20, registering a dozen goals in the Bundesliga, but that was largely due to a slow start to the season in which he netted just twice in his opening 14 games. From January onwards, he scored 10 times in 16 matches. Interestingly, despite a drop-off in goals, Havertz was more clinical last term than in 2018-19, converting 20.3 per cent of his shots compared to 19.5 per cent.
What’s been said about him?
One former player whom Havertz is frequently compared to is one-time Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack and the similarities aren’t purely based upon their affiliation to Leverkusen.
”All eyes are on Erling Braut Haaland and Jadon Sancho but Kai Havertz is the one from a German perspective,” said former Bayern Munich star Owen Hargreaves. “He is special and he is like a hybrid of Michael Ballack and Mesut Özil. That says a lot in terms of his goals and elegance.”
Ballack’s former international colleague Dietmar Hamman agrees with that assessment: “He reminds me of a young Michael Ballack, I said this months or years ago. He’s just a brilliant player, he’s so flexible, he’s tall, he can hold the ball up. He’s physical, technically he’s very gifted. He’s perfect.”
Leverkusen’s assistant manager Marcel Daum delivered an even more favourable critique, likening Havertz’s style to that of Zinedine Zidane. “For me, he has the elegance of Zidane,” he said. “If you see his movement, he’s very elegant, he’s always calm, he has great passing ability.
“What a lot of people don’t see, because we watch him every day, is that he’s pretty fast. That’s a big bonus. He’s a great player; he’s scoring goals, he’s great in the air and he’s pretty fast. It’s up to him how far he can go. I can’t say he will be the best German player ever, but he has the talent and there are no limits.”
“He’s got great composure and technique, and his decision-making is usually spot on,” said Leverkusen teammate and strike partner Kevin Volland. “I’ve seen him come right through into the first-team since I joined the club and his development has been incredible. He’s quickly become especially important to us.”
What are his key strengths and best position?
Although often described as a “playmaker” Havertz’ chance creation numbers don’t suggest he will threaten Kevin De Bruyne in the Premier League assists charts next season. He ranked tenth across the Bundesliga for chances created in 2019-20, while 20 players supplied more than his six assists.
However, following the departure of Julian Brandt – the Bundesliga’s top chance creator in 2018-19 – to Borussia Dortmund last summer, Havertz took on the mantle of becoming Leverkusen’s most creative player. While capable of threading defence-splitting passes and whipping in pinpoint crosses, Havertz is more of a forward than a traditional No 10.
Like Ballack and his new manager Lampard, Havertz possesses the intuition for arriving in the penalty area at just the right time and is usually clinical when he gets there. He is quicker across the ground than those two as well which means he can help set a move in motion from deep before racing into the area to finish it off. Increasingly, he is becoming an aerial threat too, scoring two headers in May’s 4-1 win over Werder Bremen.
“During the winter break, we showed images that he did not reach the box enough,” Bosz said of his development. “Now he does that more often. His share of goals and assists has skyrocketed.”
Under Bosz, Havertz has been used in a variety of roles in different systems, including as an inside forward on the right-wing, in a deeper central midfield position, off Volland as a support striker and recently after the Bundesliga’s resumption, as a False 9.
That Havertz is comfortable playing in several positions is testament to his adaptability, versatility and spacial intelligence. Surrounded by players with similar qualities such as Ziyech, Werner and Mason Mount, Havertz should thrive with Chelsea in the Premier League.
How Havertz could fit in at Chelsea:
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