Jadon Sancho was long the apple of Chelsea fans’ eyes, but now the social media drum is sounding towards Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen.
Chelsea fans learned a valuable lesson when Maurizio Sarri was appointed; the board listens. Sarri had not been linked, at all, by any realistic source. But as the summer of 2018 approached and Antonio Conte was sure to be sacked, more and more started begging for Sarri.
Then the rumors started. And then all of a sudden they became real. What started as a tweet here and there actually turned into a manager. Buoyed by that, fans on Twitter have long held on to the hope of Jadon Sancho coming to Chelsea.
The prospect of Sancho coming to Chelsea, at least this summer, has faded in and out of popularity and reality for this entire season. Right now it is on the down slope, leaving fans on Twitter to turn their attention to a new target: Kai Havertz.
Step one is for the rumor to advance to the point where a commentator (be it an ex player or manager) feels the need to bring it up. That one gets a check mark. The next step is either a source saying Chelsea is definitely going for him or someone with “inside knowledge” saying the same.
Sancho has either been priced out or simply gone to the back burner to stay at Dortmund another season. Havertz would be equally as expensive, but he is (very slightly) younger and more versatile than the Englishman. Furthermore, the chances of him being available this summer are much more likely with Bayer Leverkusen not quite in the Champions League spots.
What would make Havertz more appealing (especially to Frank Lampard) would primarily be his versatility. Sancho can play on either wing and do so very well. Havertz can play as a 10 as well as deeper as a “normal” central midfielder. He can play on the wing as well and he has some time as a striker this season. Oh, and add on that he has worn the captain’s armband multiple times this season and suddenly the 20 year old’s stock begins to sky rocket.
Havertz is well past the point of being considered a one season wonder, but he might still have the baggage of a one manager or one club wonder. Mind, he was good before, but Peter Bosz’s arrival at Bayer Leverkusen is when Havertz really began to explode. Bosz pulled Havertz deeper into midfield initially to have him more involved in the overall play as well as to take advantage of late runs into the box from deep.
But that should, at best, be only a minor concern. Havertz seems like a tailor made Lampard number 10 with his eagerness to be involved on and off the ball as well as his ability to quickly find a vertical pass with accuracy. Of course, Mason Mount and incoming Hakim Ziyech fill a similar role, but like Havertz, those two can play as wingers if need be.
If Sancho is unavailable, Chelsea could still do good business by taking a look at Havertz. If anything, it may be even smarter business in the long term given his versatility and creativity compared to the more direct Sancho.
The rumor is still in its infant stages of being mostly Twitter gossip, but if it progresses further fans should stand up and take notice.