Chelsea’s Kai Havertz is emerging as a superstar for Germany

Chelsea’s Kai Havertz was the standout performer as Germany took an important three points from its match against a strong Portugal side. Two first half own goals aided Die Mannschaft en route to their 4-2 win. One spectacular young German, Havertz, was all over the pitch as a positive influence in the attack. He forced the first Portuguese own goal and scored one of his own in the second half. The youngster was also tasked with marking Cristiano Ronaldo on corner kicks and set pieces, a job he performed well. Havertz was superb all-around on the night and was one of the best—if not the best—players on the pitch.

It now seems to be routine for Chelsea players to be the best of the best as young Billy Gilmour took home Man of the Match honors in a massive draw for Scotland against England. That Three Lions side included Mason Mount, who was the standout performer for a relatively underwhelming English team. If Friday was Gilmour’s day, Saturday belonged to the young German Chelsea star. Havertz obviously has regained full fitness after his bout with COVID-19 and has proven any and all doubters totally wrong after his rough start. Any questions about his status as a certified wunderkind have been answered now after his world class showing against Portugal.

Chelsea’s Kai Havertz brought a much-needed energy to Germany’s attack.

Havertz’ is now making his mark by scoring or influencing goals routinely. The forward’s brilliant goal—where he rounded Ederson and tucked in the winner in the Champions League final—is a perfect example of this. It certainly cannot be far from the thoughts of any Chelsea fan as it’s not etched in Blues history. Now, in international competitions, he’s beginning to do much of the same. There seems to be no limit as to what this young phenom can achieve. He’s a top class player already and he continues to prove doubters wrong with every big-time performance on the world’s biggest stages.

To put things into perspective, Havertz has just turned 22 and has already won a Champions League final. He’s won a game at the Euros with a goal and a leading-edge performance for Germany, as well. It’s becoming crystal clear that Havertz—both for club and country—is becoming an increasingly important and influential component in the teams he represents. He will clearly be a fixture in the first team for both for many years to come.

Havertz’s improved performances also spells good news for his club, who now doesn’t need to worry about his showings and can focus elsewhere.

To hopefully cement the eventuality of more trophies, Chelsea must continue to bring world class players into the team. The Blues also need to make certain that quality players are available to match their English and global ambitions. Havertz’s case is instructive in this important way. At the time of his transfer, the German was the largest transfer fee ever paid by the Blues. The lesson to be gleaned therein is that paying for global talents is the right approach to the transfer market for a team with the pedigree of Chelsea. The Blues aspire to be amongst the biggest club in world football. To be so, they need to continue to bring in young, world class talents like Havertz every year.

This necessity certainly leads one to challenge Chelsea to continue doing what began last summer by securing the transfer of Erling Haaland this summer. The fee for a player who could vault the side into the stratosphere of world football (if it isn’t there already) is basically irrelevant. Fees for global superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and now Haaland are part of the cost of being great. Sustained success requires a great commitment of funds every year.

What did you make of Havertz’s performance? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!