Havertz hints at his early struggle at Chelsea

Kai Havertz feels excited about the foreseeable future at Chelsea despite enduring a ‘tough’ debut campaign in the Premier League.

Havertz swapped Bayer Leverkusen for Stamford Bridge in a massive £71million deal last summer, becoming Chelsea’s second most expensive signing ever.

Though he arrived in England with high expectations, the 21-year-old prodigy has failed to live up to his price tag and produced an underwhelming season instead.

A dismal campaign disrupted by a series of physical setbacks and positive coronavirus tests has hampered the German’s impact in west London to just five goals and seven assists.

However, the youngster’s confidence has been handed a boost with Thomas Tuchel’s arrival at the helm in late January.

Havertz’s career at Chelsea has taken an upward curve following Frank Lampard’s dismissal, but he now needs regular first-team action to keep their trajectory.

Often deployed out of position by the former manager, the German whizz-kid has struggled to settle in new surroundings.

But Tuchel is now looking to restore the playmaker’s confidence by putting him back to his favorable position behind the strikers.

Havertz was nothing short of outstanding performing as a false nine at Bayer Leverkusen and has started to show glimpses of that form in recent times.

Tuchel’s decision to shift Timo Werner out wide and play his international teammate in a more central role has extracted some vivid performances from Havertz.

Hopeful that he can reignite his career at Stamford Bridge, the attacking midfielder opened up on his early struggle in the Premier League.

Currently engaged with Germany in the World Cup qualifying, Havertz spoke of his feelings following his nation’s 1-0 triumph over Romania.

“It has been a tough season. I know things have not been going smoothly. But that is normal when you first go abroad. It takes half a year or longer to adjust,” he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

“Things are going well right now, so I do not want to overthink those negative impressions from the past. I am positive and hope the next weeks will be every bit as good.”

Havertz started both Germany’s opening qualifying fixtures, repaying Joachim Low’s trust with a goal against Iceland in their Group J curtain-raiser.

If he manages to maintain his fine international form once he returns to the base, the youngster would be a massive addition to Tuchel’s pursuit of two titles.

Chelsea remain in contention for the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup crowns and are also genuine candidates to land a top-four finish in the Premier League.