Kai Havertz and Frank Lampard. (GETTY Images)
Speaking in an interview with Daily Star (h/t Metro), Paul Merson compared Chelsea midfielder Kai Havertz to Mesut Ozil and said that Chelsea looked better without him.
In a scathing review of Havertz’s season so far, Merson questioned his work-rate on the field. The former Arsenal player-turned-pundit compared Havertz’s body language to Mesut Ozil.
He said that when the German loses the ball, he does not care to win it back. Merson said that Ozil got stick for seeming “disinterested”, which is something Havertz has also been guilty of this season.
“Ozil used to get major stick because he didn’t always seem interested. But Havertz looks like that sometimes now as well.”
However, Merson did give some leeway to Havertz. He did say that he looks out of depth on the field and that he “doesn’t want to be here”, but mentioned how a move to a new country could have caused this for the 21-year-old.
“You have to remember this is a young player who’s come to a different country.”
The English pundit then said that the did not understand why Lampard threw the German back into the squad after recovering from Covid-19.
Merson said that Chelsea looked better without him in the team, and that Lampard should not have thrown Havertz straight back in because his “confidence looks shot”. (h/t Metro)
The two-time league winner with Arsenal believes Kai Havertz is a number 10 who is at his best when playing balls for the strikers and looks “lost” on the flanks.
Since signing for Chelsea in the summer for a fee rising up to £72million, Havertz has only shown flashes of his brilliance. He has appeared in 11 league matches but has just 1 goal to his name.
He will be looking to make his 12th league appearance when Chelsea face West Ham on Monday. The Hammers are 8th in the table, just one point behind Chelsea, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
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