A former Stamford Bridge player and coach has urged Germany who are struggling to get themselves into the box more often.
Kai Havertz “just wants to be a nice player”, according to Glenn Hoddle, who says the Chelsea midfielder needs to “be a little more confident”.
Havertz have been vying for a form since completing a £ 70million ($ 92m) move to Stamford Bridge from Bayer Leverkusen in September.
The 21-year-old earned a reputation as one of the best young players in Europe during his time at Bay Arena, but he failed to reach the same heights in his first few months at Chelsea.
A small run of four goals through 17 showed little to convince fans that it was worth investing so much in the summer transfer market, with its latest sub-par show coming at a 2-1 loss at Wolves last week.
Calls for Frank Lampard to drop Havertz have been wide-ranging into a tight festival time, but he is set to retain his place in the Blues’ starting line-up when West Ham reach Bridge for the the big London derby on Monday night.
While Hoddle still believes the ex-Leverkusen star will go on to fulfill his potential in west London, he wants the German international to start driving forward on a more consistent foundation instead of sitting back and letting games get past it.
“At the moment Havertz are not showing anywhere near the player he was showing in Germany. He’s playing a little deeper at Chelsea and I’m wondering if he’ll start reaching the field of play. a little more punishment we will start to see the best of it., “the former Chelsea player and head coach told the Evening Status.
“He’s a good player and there’s more to come, but he looks like a character who needs some time to settle.
“It’s almost like he just wants to be a nice player. For me, he needs to be a little more confident. Get himself in the box, he injured himself a little bit in terms of his ability to run to get into the box and i think he will get a score of goals.
“He’s finding it hard to change but he’ll get there in the end. He’s still a young man and he’s a good enough player to accept the speed and strength of the Premier League.”
Timo Werner arrived at Chelsea in the summer after a meteoric rise to prominence in Germany by RB Leipzig and, like Havertz, so far has not met expectations in the third final for the Lampard side.
However, Hoddle believes the £ 47.5 million ($ 63m) signing, which has drawn gaps in each of his last eight rounds across all competitions, has shown enough to be a valuable asset. for the Blues in the long run.
“Werner will come back, he’s hit a bit of a lure but I have no doubt about that. He’s shown enough to Chelsea fans that he’s a great player,” he said.
“I think a goal here or there and he’ll be back to his best. He’s a player at the top, down the middle or the width.”