There
are 72 million reasons why Chelsea will be hoping Thomas Tuchel can help Kai
Havertz. The record signing's struggle to find the form that he showed at
Bayer Leverkusen was seen as a key factor in Frank Lampard failing to meet
expectations. Unlocking his potential could be crucial if Chelsea are to
prosper.
It is anticipated that the technocratic Tuchel will offer clearer tactical
instructions and in the case of Timo Werner, their fellow German, a player
who has had difficulties of his own since his summer move to Stamford
Bridge, that change of style could suit the striker. With Havertz, it might
be more complicated.
That is the view of Tayfun Korkut, the former Leverkusen coach under whom
Havertz scored his first Bundesliga goal at the age of just 17 while still a
schoolboy.
Korkut knows all about Tuchel too. He not only faced his teams in Germany
but was in the same Stuttgart Kickers youth academy many years ago when the
pair were just teenagers.
An admirer of Havertz, the former Turkey international midfielder still
rates him as one of the game's top talents. But even he acknowledges that it
has been an underwhelming start.
"I am still behind what I said 100 per cent or even more," Korkut tells Sky
Sports. "There are maybe a lot of small pieces that can help to explain
Kai's performances for Chelsea so far. I am not looking to make excuses for
him but we need to see the bigger picture here."
That bigger picture includes catching coronavirus and experiencing lockdown
in a foreign country after making the move from his boyhood club. Throw in
the absence of supporters and the pressure of a big fee and this has been an
altogether alien experience.
Havertz has been in and out of the team, used in a variety of different
positions. While Werner's overt disappointment when missing chances has
prompted some sympathy, there is something more impenetrable about the body
language of Havertz.
"Kai never shows emotions and when things are not going well, that feels
like a mistake. People say that he does not care and he does not fight. It
is the culture in both England and Germany and it is what I was expecting if
his performances were not at the level.
"This is typical and it is why he will probably never be the darling of the
supporters because he is not someone who fights, but people really need to
forget about that.
"Sometimes not showing your emotions can be in your favour and sometimes it
can go against you. At the moment, I think it is going against him a little
bit in the eyes of the supporters and the media. But I still think that it
is not a problem of Kai, I think it is a general problem inside the club. He
is 21 and this is the first time abroad."
Werner, 24, is also outside of Germany for the first time, but Korkut, who
was a coach in Stuttgart's academy during the player's time there, regards
him as a very different case.
"Timo just needs goals," he explains.
"He has never been a player to create something for himself. He needs
players who can play him the ball. He can only do it with space and players
to give him the right pass at the right moment. But when Timo does start to
score, I am certain he will be fine.
"Kai is different. Kai needs more, even if he seems really cool. The
position is not the major issue with Kai because he can play on the right or
in the middle.
"The more important thing is that he needs someone to support him in this
moment when he is struggling. People are expecting big things and it is not
so easy. He needs confidence."
The onus is on Tuchel now to instil that confidence.
The new coach entrusted him with the full 90 minutes against Wolves - the
first time that Havertz has not been hooked in a Premier League game since
October.
There were some sparks of life too. A driving run from midfield in the early
stages, the like of which former Chelsea boss Glenn Hoddle admitted he had
not seen from Havertz before.
In the second half, he darted in behind on two occasions only for the ball
not to come. But for a fortunate block in stoppage time, he would have
scored the winning goal.
Tuchel will have his plans for Havertz but whether that will be the pressing
game that he adopted in Germany or the possession game he utilised with
Paris Saint-Germain is unclear.
Korkut has followed his evolution as a coach.
"I know him very well because we were in the academy together. He was one
year older than me. He has always done things his own way. He was always
well prepared.
"He was the starting point for clubs in Germany to push academy coaches
because he was successful from the start. Before Thomas, clubs would just
bring in experienced managers.
"He has had a lot of different styles over the years. His game has changed
over time. When he started at Mainz, he was playing the transition game. I
coached against him at Hannover when he was at Mainz and he was playing the
Jurgen Klopp style. Lots of pressing, counter-pressing, everything on the
transition. It was fast football.
"But I think in the past couple of years, he has become a coach not exactly
like Pep Guardiola but someone who plays the possession game. He had to
change at Paris Saint-Germain because he could not tell the players to run
like you-know-what there.
"I think that move to Paris was very important for him. Working abroad as a
player or a coach is always very important. But if you have big players you
have to adapt. Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are not going to come back if they
lose the ball so it is different.
"Did you watch Paris in the Champions League? You could see in the game
against Leipzig. He was playing very defensively and they were telling him
that he could not play this style - this waiting football. But you could see
that he managed to adapt his style of play.
"At Chelsea, I think he can play his own style again because he has a lot of
young players who are still on their way to becoming superstars. There are
not many there who are already superstars. He knows how to coach these young
players so it could work.
"It is different if they are players who have already won trophies or have
already worked with big coaches. It is totally different. Maybe, for that
reason, Chelsea is better for him than Paris."
But will Tuchel be better for Havertz?
"Thomas should be good for him because of the style of play but also because
of the language. We can talk a lot about tactics but the human being is more
than the tactics. Thomas can help him because he knows him very well and
will know how to handle him.
"He has worked at PSG and Dortmund with players of a similar style. If you
remember Lampard as a player, he was quite different to Kai. He was more
emotional and maybe he felt that was missing in Kai. Sometimes the coach has
to adapt to the player as well.
"But I think Thomas can help him. Maybe this is the turning point."
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