Chelsea cannot afford to make Kai Havertz its next Kevin De Bruyne

Chelsea must not let Kai Havertz become it’s next Kevin De Bruyne as the German maestro will flourish once his illness relents.

People have begun to notice what Kai Havertz did in a late cameo against Manchester City last Sunday. He’ll rack up assists and run rampant like that regularly once he’s fully fit and acclimated. Havertz sent a smooth as silk pass across the goal to set up Callum Hudson-Odoi for a tap in as Chelsea exhibited its only life against a dominating City side in the dying moments. This was merely a glimpse of what the young German star will do when he is fully healthy, fit and accustomed to his totally new surroundings in life.

Any observers who postulate Havertz was a bad investment and suggest benching the player—or worse—should just think about Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah. These sales were premature and ill-advised and will continue to plague Chelsea in the future; much of the same can be said about any such talk about Havertz and Timo Werner. Give up on either at your future football peril, as both will justify their transfers to Chelsea in full when they dominate in the future.

This commentary is about Havertz though. Havertz had Coronavirus just a few short weeks ago and no one had any clue whatsoever how this has affected the young man. He only now appears—appears being the operative word—to be regaining the fitness necessary to participate, not to mention excel in the toughest and best football league in the world. Yet, experts have set about to denigrate the 21-year-old German phenom’s performance because his play hasn’t lived up to standards to-date. The overarching factor in all this is that the young man has been ill.

No non-medical professionals can really understand how this terrible affliction impacts any given person. Havertz’s manager, Frank Lampard made it very clear that the virus hit Havertz hard and that he was very ill.

What is it about that revelation that doesn’t register? The young man was very ill. All of the experts should just cool it and let Havertz progress from this disease at the pace at which his body requires. Otherwise, they will look like jesters when he is finally healthy, acclimated, and wreaking havoc on the Blues’ opponents in the future. His abbreviated, but splendid, cameo against City was just a preview of what will come from this magnificent footballer.

Havertz’s teammate, Mateo Kovacic, himself a very accomplished Chelsea and international footballer, seems quite certain of that fact. The Croatian had this to say recently about Havertz:

"“He is such a talented player. He is a great signing for Chelsea. He will be a huge player for Chelsea and for world football, I’m sure of that.“He has huge potential. He is such an elegant player. He just needs to learn to play in the Premier League, that’s all. It’s a difficult league with a huge tempo, and he will get used to it. Game by game he is getting better so I have no fear for Kai.”"

Listen to Kovacic. This is no casual observer speaking and this isn’t just team speak—it’s reality.

There’s a truckload more of that to come soon, but whenever it arrives for Chelsea, this young player will set the Premier League on fire. Don’t at all count out his German international teammate Werner either. Werner will ignite like kindling on a tepid fire at some point and the goals will come at a breakneck pace. Take both of those predictions to the bank, the only question is how soon. When that happens, the Blues’ freight train will be back on track.