Kai Havertz should be Chelsea’s top priority this summer

Amongst all of the other transfer rumors and targets, Chelsea should make Kai Havertz the club’s No. 1 target this summer.

Chelsea has generally played well during the first few games since restart, but all is not rosy in west London. Currently, the club sits not-so firmly in the top four of English football. Manchester United and other clubs are right on the Blues’ heels and the chasm that separates them from Liverpool and Manchester City remains deep. It needs to be filled in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Matches with many scoring chances with not enough goals have plagued Chelsea all season. It was nice to see the Blues convert against Watford, but that game should have been put away much earlier. To address this situation, the club has already made two stellar signings to shore up a languid attack that surely needs an infusion of attacking prowess and above all clinical finishing. The Blues should prioritize the signature of Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz.

Adding the magnificent Hakim Ziyech, a maestro with the ball at his feet and a set-piece ace as well will absolutely help provide service to next season’s center forwards. He’ll also chip in with double-digit goals himself. He’s a true double threat. In addition, the almost inconceivable signing of Timo Werner, one of Europe’s most prolific striker/forwards, will unquestionably deliver additional clinical finishing that Chelsea has lacked for most of the season.

Added to the rejuvenated Willian—who is hopefully re-signing—and the brilliant post-injury restart form of Captain America, Christian Pulisic, these two signings have brightened Chelsea’s future outlook considerably. Yet, the team should not stop there in restructuring its attack. One more forward—or an attacking midfielder—is still necessary to place Chelsea’s attack in a position to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City next season. That is where Havertz comes in.

Havertz would provide answers to many deficiencies in the Chelsea squad this season with a single signing. He is a magician with the ball and craves the opportunity to distribute, providing teammates with clear scoring chances. Coupling him and Ziyech on the same pitch is an almost unfair stacking of the deck against anyone but the most fearsome opponents Chelsea will face in 2020-2021. The excellence of Havertz, Ziyech and Werner added to Chelsea’s current attackers is exactly what Chelsea will need to field a team brimming with attacking talent to contest and compete in all four competitions in which it will engage in 2020-21.

In addition to his distribution prowess, Havertz can also finish. Like Ziyech, he is a multi-role threat to either pass or score. The 21-year old ended the Bundesliga season with 12 goals and six assists in league play across 30 appearances. Make no mistake about his potential to get better as he matures in age, strength and experience. Without question, Havertz is a potential 20-10 player in the making and the Blues, should they be able to get his signature on a five or even a seven-year contract. He’s that talented.

In addition, Havertz provides a dimension that has been noted in recent reports and alluded to by manager Frank Lampard; the club needs height in their players. Chelsea is woefully deficient in defending corners and in converting them, as well. Lampard singling out the club’s lack of taller players, especially in defending against corner kicks. Lampard noted that the club wasn’t good at defending those last season and they are the worst in the Premier League this season.

That fact was painfully evident in the recent loss to West Ham. Shorter Chelsea players were dwarfed by tall attackers on corners as the Hammers made the Blues pay dearly for that disadvantage. Havertz will not remedy that deficiency by himself, as more needs to be done, but he’ll be part of the solution. He’s 1.89 meters tall (6-foot-2) and will help the average size of the squad tremendously.

The cost of an acquisition of this magnitude is a major factor in any discussion of signing Havertz—or anyone else of high quality for that matter. But, Chelsea’s amazing business thus far—even before the window has opened—has given the Blues the financial flexibility and wherewithal to make this world-class signing.  Funds from the Eden Hazard and Alvaro Morata sales are available, though whittled down somewhat by the Ziyech and Werner signings, but other sales of current players will help offset the cost of acquiring Havertz.

There are several, if not many, players Chelsea can sell or add as makeweights to help aggregate funds for this and other necessary purchases. Player-plus-cash deals in today’s cash-limited economic climate make perfect sense. Chelsea has desirable players to include in such deals and lower its acquisition costs. Regardless of the structure, the Havertz deal is one that should be completed whatever the requirements Bayer Leverkusen imposes. He’s that talented and he can be that important to the long-term future of the club.

The 2020-21 summer transfer window is shaping up to be a monumental one for Chelsea. The Blues have the unique opportunity to upgrade the squad from a high-echelon third-to-fifth place EPL team into one which can challenge any and all European clubs in every competition. The choice is Chelsea’s.

The club has made an outstanding start to what could be a truly transformational window, one that could position it for success for a decade. Adding Kai Havertz would be another key piece. Chelsea would still have several other key positions to improve; there are no illusions about that. But, Havertz is a unique player who adds to the squad where it always shows up big, on the score sheet. Chelsea should not miss out on such a golden opportunity.