Tuchel: There will be no quick solutions to Havertz’s Chelsea form

Stefan Bienkowski

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:44 CDT
• 2 min read

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that there are no quick solutions to solving the problems surrounding Kai Havertz’s form at the club. 

The German attacking midfielder joined the Premier League club in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee of £72 million. 

However, Havertz has struggled to adapt to life in England, with an extended poor run of form coming either side of an unfortunate case of COVID. 

So far this season the German midfielder has managed just five goals and six assists in 26 games for Chelsea. 

Tuchel, who replaced Frank Lampard as Chelsea manager, was largely employed to get the best out of the club’s recent signings from the Bundesliga. 

But the German manager has admitted that Havertz’s form and performances for Chelsea won’t change overnight. 

“I am pretty sure we will see [the Leverkusen Havertz], there is no short answer though,” the Chelsea manager told a press conference on Friday. 

“What we know is there is all this potential in him and he can show it on the pitch. 

“For every transfer, change of club, every player is different. Some players need more time to adapt, sometimes it is a process. 

“All we can do is push him, support him and give him what he needs. He had a good start with us, good matches and I have a feeling that he is a guy who is clear, self-aware, humble and very talented. There are no doubts he will show this.

“Hopefully he can come back in the next few days because I am confident he can have a big impact.”

As well as Havertz, Tuchel has also been tasked with getting fellow Bundesliga import Timo Werner up to speed with the Premier League after he joined the club in the summer for a reported £48 million. 

However, like Havertz, Werner has struggled to match the form he showed in Germany with just nine goals in 31 games.