Finally! The moment all Chelsea fans have been waiting for has arrived!
On 4th September 2020, the football journalistic circle was abuzz with speculation that the deal for Kai Havertz's arrival at Stamford Bridge would be announced by the club, and the entire fan-base waited for that 5:00 p.m. UK time mark, which has been a Chelsea favourite for making big announcements. 5:00 p.m. came and went, but there was no announcement making the fan-base think they would have to wait one more day for the official confirmation.
However, at 8:00 p.m. UK time, the signing of Kai Havertz was announced by Chelsea, drawing to a close a long transfer saga which has drawn out for months.
Even though the club was silent on the fees for the deal, reputed journalists like Matt Law (The Telegraph), David Ornstein (The Athletic) and Fabricio Romano all reported the deal to be worth of an initial 62 Million Pounds plus an additional 9 Million Pounds as performance linked add-ons (i.e. 71 Million Pounds incl. add-ons). This deal still remains just short of the club record of 72 Million Pounds that Chelsea paid for Kepa Arrizabalaga in the summer of 2018, and may turn out to be a bargain for the 21 year old. It also bears testament to the negotiating skills of Marina Granovskaia, that she could close to deal for much lesser than the 100 Million Euros that Bayer Leverkusen was demanding to consider selling their hottest prospect.
Upon signing, in his first interview for the Chelsea FC 5th Stand App, Kai Havertz spoke about the exciting project at Chelsea based on young players, the presence of fellow Germans Rudiger and Werner at the club, and most importantly, the role that Lampard played in convincing him to sign for Chelsea and the prospect of getting a chance to work with and learn from, arguably, the greatest goal-scoring midfielder of all time.
Not since the signing of Eden Hazard by Chelsea in 2012, when Chelsea was building for the future with signings of players like Mata, De Bruyne, Willian, Oscar, Salah and Lukaku (till Mourinho put an end to it), has Chelsea put out such a statement of intent by signing one of the most pursued and hottest young prospects in World Football coveted by clubs like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. So what makes Kai Havertz such a promising prospect?
Kai Havertz is a 21 year old German midfielder who signed for Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 11 and came through their ranks to make his professional debut on 15th October 2016 at the age of 17 years and soon established himself as a regular in the Leverkusen side. Havertz registered a total of 4 Goals and 5 Assists in his debut season (2016-17) for Leverkusen in 28 appearances, and 3 Goals and 8 Assists in the following season (2017-18) in 31 appearances.
However, it was in the 2018-19 season that Kai Havertz truly came into his own and established himself as one of, if not the most promising young German player of his times, bagging a total of 20 Goals and 6 Assists in 40 appearances in all competitions.
Even though he had a slow start to the 2019-20 season, he was imperious in the second half of the season, most prominently post the coronavirus lockdown, scoring a total of 18 Goals and bagging 9 assists for the Leverkusen side in all competitions.
While achieving those numbers, he was deployed and played in numerous positions such as an attacking midfield, the right wing, central midfield and even a false-9, and also captained the Leverkusen side in many games in 2019-20 season, all at the young age of 21.
The young prodigy has been hailed and praised by all that have watched and followed him closely. Leverkusen's Sporting Director, Rudi Voller, himself a great player in his time, called Havertz the club's greatest ever player. That is no small praise especially when you consider that truly top quality players like Michael Ballack, Ze Roberto, Arturo Vidal and Bernd Schneider have plied their trade at the club in the past. Liverpool Legend Didi Hamann has also hailed Havertz as the player that currently stands out for him in Germany, even over the mercurial talent, Jadon Sancho. His German team-mate and Manchester City player, Ilkay Gundogan, stated that there is no limit to Havertz's potential and that he could be even be better than Ballack in his opinion. The Managers of the two best club sides in the World, Hansi Flick and Jurgen Klopp, both of whom were linked with a bid for the player before the coronavirus pandemic, have also heaped praise on Havertz.
All of this points to Havertz being a great signing for Chelsea. However, one must bear in mind that he is a young player, only 21 years of age, and may take his time to adjust to the Premier League and truly come into his own. But, all Chelsea fans would be hoping that Havertz can fully realize his true potential at Chelsea and establish himself as one of the best midfielders in Europe.
