Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel says Kai Havertz’s unorthodox style of play reminds him of former Premier League strikers Dennis Bergkamp, Robin van Persie and Dimitar Berbatov.
Havertz, 22, is now the first-choice striker at Chelsea after taking club-record signing Romelu Lukaku’s place in the side this season.
The Germany international has scored five goals in his last five Premier League games for the Blues and is now up to 13 for the season in all competitions.
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In a recent interview with former Chelsea player-manager Glenn Hoddle, Tuchel praised Havertz’s versatility and compared him to three unconventional forwards from previous years, including Arsenal legend Bergkamp.
When asked if he sees Havertz as an out-and-out number nine, Tuchel said: “I’m still not sure.
“I see a bit of Dennis Bergkamp, Robin Van Persie, [Dimitar] Berbatov kind of player.
“He can play in the half position because he has good runs, but also feels free from the nine and creates overload to one side.
“When I watched him at Leverkusen, I didn’t know that I would coach him, when I watched him at Paris [Saint-Germain], they made him play as a nine which was very interesting.
“I remember when I watched a cup final against Bayern [Munich] with my staff and said ‘this could be a good role for him.’”
Havertz will be hoping to add to his goals tally when Chelsea take on Crystal Palace in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on Sunday.
Palace midfielder Conor Gallagher, who is on loan from Chelsea, won’t feature in the match after his parent club rejected an official request for him to play.
Tuchel insists it is the correct decision but admits he understands Gallagher’s frustrations after speaking with the England international.
“I had the chance to speak to Conor, and I could also see his frustration,” said Tuchel.
“We met some weeks ago, we met after the international break by coincidence, in a restaurant, and we had a chat, and the subject came up. And I apologised!
“Because I know how competitive he is and I know his character, I like him a lot and it was a pleasure to have him here in pre-season.
“We play to win the game, the rules were clear when we made the loan.
“I can totally understand the disappointment of Conor, but these were the rules when we made the loan and we don’t want to suffer from our rules.”
Topics: Kai Havertz, Dennis Bergkamp, Dimitar Berbatov, Robin Van Persie, Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Football, Premier League
Rory O'Callaghan