The message from Frank Lampard was always consistent: Timo Werner and Kai Havertz would come good at Chelsea but patience was required. There would be no quick fix. Unfortunately for the club legend, those within the Blues' hierarchy felt differently.
It was on this day last year that Thomas Tuchel replaced Lampard at the helm at Stamford Bridge. Results had been poor and needed improvement, especially with Chelsea ninth in the Premier League table. Yet there was also a suspicion the Blues turned to a German coach to unlock Werner and Havertz.
Signed for a combined £120million from RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, the German internationals were expected to turn Chelsea from top-four hopefuls into title challengers under Lampard.
Werner started well with eight goals in his opening eleven games, but his form then completely disintegrated. Havertz, meanwhile, was used as an attack-minded number eight without great success. He then suffered badly from Covid and struggled to regain his place in the side.
"The people that question them should look at other top players that have come at a young age to this country," Lampard insisted passionately 12 months ago. "Eden Hazard is a great example – he came here, [started slowly] but became one of our greater players ever.
"It's not an easy transition to this league. It's a hard league. I think people that question them should give them time because they are great lads and we signed them for now and the future."
Tuchel was asked outright at his unveiling as Chelsea head coach if he was hired to make good on the signings of Werner and Havertz. As supporters have since come to expect from the 48-year-old, he delivered an amusing yet honest response.
"If it is like this then they spoke well about me," he said with a chuckle. "I am not sure but if it is about this [being a German coach] then maybe it is not the biggest disadvantage at this moment."
Tuchel's opening game in charge was a 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers. Havertz started, Werner didn't. It was roles reversed a few days later as the Blues defeated Burnley 2-0.
Come the end of the 2020/21 campaign, Werner and Havertz were part of Tuchel's go-to starting XI.
Both were in the side for the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid and, of course, were part of a three-man attack alongside Mason Mount for the final against Manchester City in Porto.
It was Havertz who scored what proved to be the winner; the 22-year-old able to round Ederson and slot home during the opening period. It felt like a key moment for the young German, a status-affirming goal.
Yet Tuchel felt Chelsea needed a reliable goalscorer in the summer transfer window and so Romelu Lukaku was signed for a club-record fee of £97.5million. Inevitably, that catapulted the Belgian to the front of the pecking order in the attack.
Havertz still started the campaign well – he scored a wonderful looping header against Liverpool at Anfield – and Tuchel spoke publicly about the forward's newfound self-belief.
"I felt him very self-confident after his end to the season after he was very decisive in the Champions League," the Chelsea head coach said in September.
"He didn’t lean back on that and took it as a given that he has made an impact now and has his place. He is fighting hard with a different attitude and confidence. If he misses in training, he still takes the next shot with full belief."
Havertz's bright start would tail off and Chelsea supporters have yet to see the best of the him this season. He has started just 17 games in all competitions and was among the substitutes for the weekend win over Tottenham.
Next to him on the bench was Werner, whose campaign has been impacted by injury and Covid. He has made only 19 appearances and scored just six goals. His form in front of goal remains a problem.
It's understood Werner would like to play through the middle under Tuchel as part of a front two. The Chelsea head coach has experimented with a 4-2-2-2 shape in recent weeks and started Werner alongside Lukaku in the Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham, but he failed to produce a statement display.
Given the German was still on the way back from Covid, perhaps that was no surprise – and it's almost impossible for a player to find form in the space of 90 minutes. Yet given the plethora of attacking options available to Tuchel, that is the challenge that has been laid down.
In March, Werner will celebrate his 26th birthday. These are very much the prime years of his career, especially given how crucial speed is to his game. He will not want to be contained to a bench going forward.
Chelsea have a little more time with Havertz, who is still only 22 years old and has a contract until 2025. And Tuchel greatly values his compatriot's qualities: his off-the-ball work, his desire to press opponents, his subtle and intelligent movement in the final third of the pitch.
How Havertz fits in and thrives alongside the raft of other attackers at Chelsea is the conundrum Tuchel is still trying to solve. And in that sense, the Blues head coach is in the same position Lampard was 12 months ago.
The more things change...
