He has to be one of the most frustrating footballers around. Kai Havertz is one of the best technical players we've seen in a Chelsea shirt but his consistency levels mean there are still some – understandably so – doubting his long-term future at the club.
The German said himself at the start of the season about the challenges and immense pressure facing him to produce the sort of numbers of previous Blues strikers. "It's not easy to always get the consistency as a young player but my goal for the season is to play consistently on a good level," Havertz said in August.
"Nowadays everything is about scoring goals and making assists. If you don't do it, you played a bad game and everyone says it but for me football is about more than goals and assists so I try to show that on the pitch.
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"I know that people criticise you on the numbers if you don’t score for two or three games. I know that and I feel it as well. It's not a good feeling but when you play there [as striker] you have to score.
"I want to come into the position where I have the confidence to go into a game and think 'yeah today you're going to score' and to have that confidence again but it only comes through hard work and dedication. I try to do that every day and the rest comes by itself."
Almost six months on from those comments, Havertz is the side's top scorer in the 2022/23 season but he himself probably knows he is better than the numbers he has produced. The 23-year-old has scored eight goals in all competitions – with six of those coming in the Premier League – in 35 appearances which is more than any other Chelsea attacking player has this season.
However, in the past two games he has scored in each of them where he has been playing in a slightly different position than his usual false nine role. Havertz has been deployed just behind the central striker, with Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk taking it in turns as the central striker in the two games.
The job of Sterling and Mudryk in those two games has been to play right up against the centre-backs and almost distract them to allow Havertz and Joao Felix more freedom to roam behind them. This has definitely worked, especially in Havertz's case. The Germany international has seemingly really enjoyed his new role and it's allowed him to become more creative on the ball in the half-spaces and also still make the penetrating runs behind the defensive line.
What does this mean for Havertz?
In the games building up to the past two outings, things were not quite as positive for Chelsea's No. 29. Beforehand, there was a 12-game run in all competitions for Havertz that resulted with just one goal (against Crystal Palace in January). In these fixtures, Graham Potter was using him as a false nine – a role he has been used in through the majority of his time with the club.
The former Bayer Leverkusen star has definitely shone in that role but with Chelsea's change of system under Potter, it didn't look to be one that suited him anymore. We've seen a new lease of life for Havertz in a slightly deeper position with different personnel around him and it's one Potter should continue experimenting with for a few more games at least.
With Christopher Nkunku set to arrive in the summer transfer window after Chelsea agreed a deal with RB Leipzig for the Frenchman's services, what does this mean for Havertz? Nkunku, like his soon-to-be teammate, can play virtually anywhere across the front-line which is a huge advantage for Potter when he gets to work with the 25-year-old.
Prior to his injury, that has kept him sidelined since November, Nkunku spent a lot of this season as a central striker for Leipzig. He'd quite often play alongside Andre Silva in a conventional 4-4-2 formation for the Germans.
Two up front is not something we've seen at Chelsea in recent seasons and that shows no sign of making a return under Potter either, so it will be really interesting to see how Nkunku is used. The Frenchman has spent a lot of time on the left or right as a wide forward, too, which could mean he plays in a similar role to what we're seeing with Havertz at the minute.
Even with Nkunku set to arrive at the end of the season, football.london understands Chelsea are still on the hunt for a more natural No.9 in the summer, as well as a number of other positions, including the centre of midfield. A more orthodox No.9 is perhaps something they thought they were getting with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, although that has not worked for a multitude of reasons.
If Havertz can continue to flourish in this new role then we may finally see him find some consistency at Stamford Bridge. He is very frustrating at times but it's just because we all know he has the potential to become a world-class footballer in the future.
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