Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf who happens to be a big fan of Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz, wants his former club to make a move for the German international rather than splashing the cash for Brazilian Philippe Coutinho. Havertz has been in sparkling form since the resumption scoring four goals for the Werkself in the two matches after Peter Bosz tried him out upfront in a false nine position where he is allowed to roam around freely. Another Premier League outfit Liverpool have kept tabs on the German youngster and now the 20-year old has attracted interest from Chelsea and Manchester United.
Havertz, 20 has scored 10 goals this season and has lead from the front in a free-flowing Bayer Leverkusen side who are third in the Bundesliga table at the point of writing, only four points behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea are side looking to bolster their options in attack and the Blues have made Barcelona outcast Philippe Coutinho their primary target. The Brazil international is currently at Bayern Munich on loan and will surely return to Camp Nou next season and the Catalans have shown interest in cashing in on him.
What The Former Chelsea Man Said?
However, Leboeuf in his suggestion to Frank Lampard’s Chelsea feels that spending big bucks for Kai Havertz will be a more viable option.
Yes [Havertz impresses me] a lot,” Leboeuf said on ESPN FC.
“I like his maturity on the field, he looks like someone who is 30 and knows exactly what he has to do and when he has to do it. The goal he scored was very clever, between the goalkeeper’s legs.
“He is the master orchestrator of that team and I talked about him last week and I said that’s a player that I would hire for sure. When we were talking Chelsea about Coutinho when you see that player [Havertz], he should be in the Premier League very soon. He should be because he is a very, very talented player.”
Havertz scored a brace against Werder Bremen after the resumption and then again backed it up with another brace as Leverkusen bagged a 1-3 win over Borussia Monchengladbach away from home.
However Leboeuf feels that there is one area which he can improve on, is taking penalty kicks. Havertz’s second goal came from the spot and it was a good height for Yan Sommer to keep it out but the Swiss custodian was having one of the bad days out in the office.
The Frenchman added, “If I can add something because I was very nice with Kai Havertz. The penalty kick, and you know that I was a penalty taker, was very horrible. The way he shot it, the level he put the ball, was horrible. So he should stop doing that or improve it. I was too nice to him so I have to balance it!”
What Hargreaves Said?
Meanwhile, former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves feels that the versatile German forward will only improve with time. This is mainly looking at his adaptability to different positions in attack.
Now only time will tell where the talented German will be headed this summer. It could rather be that he decides to stay at Leverkusen for another season. This could help him work on his development as a player.
There is no pre-defined formula to succeed in the Premier League. So, if the player does indeed move to England, he will have to build his name from the start. A lot of players have come in and failed. Whether he can leave his mark in the top flight of English football or not, remains to be seen.
