Thomas Tuchel chose Kai Havertz as his main centre-forward ahead of Romelu Lukaku or Timo Werner when Chelsea played Burnley and the German repaid the faith with a superb brace.
Havertz was initially below the likes of Mount and Lukaku in the pecking order but as the months have gone by, the 22-year-old has seen a lot more game time. Lukaku and Timo Werner have both been highly disappointing this season which is why Thomas Tuchel has had to keep faith in Kai Havertz.
The German has scored some really important games in the previous few weeks and his manager has now hinted that it’s getting really tough to keep him out of the side.
‘Of course[it’s tough to bench him], it is what it is in the moment. The players put themselves on the pitch with performances in training and matches,’ he told the club’s official sources. ‘He gives a lot of intensity, he’s involved in goals and he scored again, so it’s a very good moment and it’s on him to keep on going.
‘This is how it is. We played the last cup match without him, Timo was very strong and was very close to starting today, Romelu got his goal and we will need everybody, but at the moment Kai is in a very good shape.
Kai Havertz is only 22 years old & he is going to get even better. pic.twitter.com/H5tIjacwNl
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) March 6, 2022
‘It’s not about differences but what he gives is a huge volume. He covers a lot of metres and in high intensity, so he finds the intensity no matter in what system the opponent defends against us. He finds intensive runs, he finds distances and that’s what makes him.
‘He did not have such a good first half against Burnley, but then he was decisive in the second half and scored twice, so it’s good.’
Is Kai Havertz the main centre-forward for Chelsea right now?
Timo Werner turned out to be a flop last season and this campaign, Romelu Lukaku is also walking in the same footsteps. The Belgian was the marquee signing last summer but he’s been majorly disappointing so far. So far, he’s netted only five goals in his 17 Premier League appearances.
To make matters worse, the forward had recently hinted that he is not happy with Tuchel’s tactics and this has infuriated the fans even more. Besides scoring goals against the smaller sides, Lukaku hasn’t done any justice to his price tag and at the moment, Kai Havertz is very much taking over his place.
Kai Havertz now has 6 G/A’s in his last 7 starts for Chelsea…
𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝. 💎 pic.twitter.com/d05nTcgse9
— LDN (@LDNFootbalI) March 5, 2022
Havertz has had only one poor outing in the previous seven games which he has started and this is the consistency that Tuchel had been looking for. It’s pretty clear that Kai Havertz is set to become the main centre-forward for Chelsea in the bigger games and Lukaku or Werner will only be used as rotating players.
Chelsea take on Norwich City in the Premier League in midweek and since this game comes just a few days after the Burnley game, the manager is surely going to rest Kai Havertz and bring Lukaku into the side. Norwich have been really poor this season so Tuchel has nothing much to worry about.
