10 quotes on Chelsea-bound Kai Havertz: ‘The best of them all’
Kai Havertz has now completed his long-awaited move to Chelsea – and supporters of Frank Lampard’s side can be excused for feeling a little giddy.
Havertz has established himself as one of the most exciting young prospects in the world since bursting onto the scene at Bayer Leverkusen, and his arrival will be seen as a huge coup for Chelsea.
We’ve rounded up some of the best quotes on the attacking midfielder, which will only make Blues fans feel even more excited.
Rudi Voller
“We’ve had many good players through the history of the club at Bayer Leverkusen, but Kai Havertz is the best of them all.”
Joachim Low
“To play such a season at 19 and score 17 goals is exceptional,” Low told Kicker in 2019. “With Kai Havertz I asked myself after the first time he trained with us whether he could’ve already been with us for a year or two. It seemed as if he’d always played with the others. I’ve seen that very, very rarely with a player before.”
Jurgen Klopp
“Kai Havertz is a great player.”
Our Story: negotiations between @bayer04_en and @ChelseaFC for @kaihavertz29 started in the middle of last week. Havertz will become the most expensive German player of all time @SPORTBILD @AxelHesse1
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) August 18, 2020
Thomas Muller
“In my last few years with the national team, I still enjoyed to train and play with him,” Müller told Sky Sports in June. “Kai Havertz is an extremely good player. If not, at that age, a top talent in Europe. He has such good skills and of course we at Bayern always want to have the players with the best skills.”
Matthias Sammer
“He’s an extraordinary player. Anyone who can recognise situations like that is something special – and he’s something special.”
Hansi Flick
“I think very few coaches wouldn’t want to have Kai Havertz in their team. He has developed enormously at Leverkusen. He moves very well between the lines, is quite fast, safe on the ball and is good at finding space. He has got a strong goal-scoring instinct at a young age.”
2019-20 stats in league and European competition:
Kai Havertz
◥ 18 goals
◥ 8 assistsHakim Ziyech
◥ 8 goals
◥ 16 assistsChristian Pulisic
◥ 10 goals
◥ 5 assistsTimo Werner
◥ 32 goals
◥ 10 assistsChelsea would have no problem scoring with this front four…
(@sbk) pic.twitter.com/Za362yUxqD
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) August 15, 2020
Roberto Hilbert.
“He is the next big, big player to come from Germany,” former Leverkusen man Hilbert recently told Goal. “I was there when he made his debut in our team at 17.
“In this generation, I think he will be a game-changer. He is a really smart player, quick and he is a nice person. He has some things Ballack had, some things Ozil had but he puts it into one package which is what makes him so dangerous.
“I think he has a level of talent that nobody else has. When Chelsea sign him for the next years then I think it will be a great chance to help them win titles in the Premier League.
“That’s how good he is. He worked hard, but he is a smart and humble person. That comes from his good family unit and he will continue to work hard and improve every day.”
Didi Hamann
“Obviously Jadon Sancho is one of the hottest properties but the player that stands out for me at the moment is Germany’s Kai Havertz from Leverkusen,” Hamann told Soccer Am in May. “He’s playing up top at the moment as they have a couple of injuries – a very versatile player.
“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. He knows where the goal is, as he showed in the first two games after the break.
“His best position, at the moment he plays up top, but I’d say it’s a number 10 or a number eight. An attacking midfielder. At the moment he’s got that air of arrogance about him in a nice way. He hardly ever gives the ball away.”
Kai Havertz. That's it. That's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/MLYF6DshBG
— TLV (@TheLampardView) August 15, 2020
Raphael Honigstein
“He’s an outstanding talent, there’s absolutely no doubt about that,” Honigstein recently told Sky Sports. “He’s in a position where he could dominate the German national team over the next decade, depending on his position.
“Will he play in the No 10 role and become the new Mesut Ozil or will he settle a bit deeper and become the new Toni Kroos? He’s got the ability to play almost anywhere in front of the defence.
“If you look at the unique combination he has of technical ability and eye for a pass, but also having the ability to score and create goals himself, and his runs to be good in the air.
“I think the best way to sum it up is that he’s a cross between Mesut Ozil and Michael Ballack. Both of them individually in their prime were pretty good players but a combination of both players in their prime, he’ll be an absolute superstar.
“All the indications are that he will turn into an absolute superstar in the next few years.”
Kai Havertz
“Mesut Ozil is my role model. I think our playing styles are similar and that’s why I am trying to learn as much from his game as I can”
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