Kai Havertz’s back to back lackluster performance has drawn severe criticism and it increased after Liverpool beat Chelsea 2-0 with the help of a Sadio Mane’s brace.
Kai Havertz’s underwhelming display in Chelsea has been pointed out by former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley. Burley says that the German international will face severe competition when Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech will return.
The young winger arrived at a £70 million deal from Bayer Leverkusen this summer window. With a high price, there is a lot of expectations from Havertz at Stamford Bridge.
He was quiet on his debut match against Brighton where the Blues won 3-1 win at the Amex stadium. Chelsea coach Frank Lampard played him as a right-winger in the game against the Seagulls. He was then deployed in a false nine position against Liverpool but was substituted later in the second half after Christensen received a red card.
Chelsea was outplayed in possession in their first home game of the season.
“But he found himself on the field in a more central role with [Timo] Werner at times playing off the left and Mason Mount on the right, but again he was underwhelming.”
“Not questioning his talent, but for the first two games he’s certainly a player that when Pulisic and Ziyech are fit, he’s going to be the one coming under threat because of his first two performances,” said Burley.
The former Ajax star attacking talent Hakim Ziyech got a major setback when he got injured in the pre-season friendly against Brighton. He was a great performer during the game and was instrumental in Chelsea’s goal during the friendly match. Another star player of the previous season, Pulisic has been superb but his injury is preventing him from featuring in games this season.
Both of them subsequently missed the first few matches, with the Blues coach admitting that it could take a few weeks for them to recover.
But it is true that after their return, there will a severe competition and if Havertz doesn’t find his form, he will go down the pecking order.
