Germany’s Kai Havertz arrived at Stamford Bridge on a five-year contract, joining Chelsea in the summer transfer window ahead of the 2020-21 season. The transfer fee was reported to be worth an initial £62 million, which could rise to £71 million with add-ons, making him the second most expensive signing for Chelsea in the history of the London club.
In his first season, Havertz won the UEFA Champions League and followed it up with the UEFA Super Cup at the start of the 2021–22 season. The 22-year-old, in an exclusive interview, takes a look at his journey so far, the times ahead and his way to the Premier League title.
Excerpts:
Tell us about football. Could things be better – you win your first Premier League game of season three-nil and you’ve already lifted the Super Cup. What is the atmosphere like here?
Yes, I think this time is great. I think when you start the season like this when you win the title in the first game, it’s definitely good for us. We won the first Premier League match which is also very important. But I mean, yeah, that’s just the beginning. I think there will be some tough challenges too, and yes, we should just keep going. Like we said before, I think we’re like hunters. We want to win and win games. I think now we’ve tasted a few titles and things like that, and I think that’s when you want to win more of it. And I think that’s the goal of this season as well.
You definitely play for Germany with Bernd Leno. I know that no matter how good a friend you have on the other team during 90 minutes, but say you score the winner, would you talk to him on the phone straight after the game?!
Sure! He is also a very good friend of mine and Timo. We are in a kind of small group on the international team – our girlfriends are also very close together so I like her but I will definitely celebrate when I score the winning goal!
It’s only been a few days but tell us about Romu Lukaku what kind of influence he’s been having so far.
Yeah, huge, I mean he’s a top striker – one of the best in the world I mean we all know. We all know his quality. We are so glad that he is here now. And I think we waited too long, but we also saw in training now that she’s a very strong character. He always wants to help people and wants to improve. He also helps a lot as young players. I mean, it’s the first week so now on Sunday it’s hard to say (that) everything will be alright, but I mean it also takes a while, but of course, we’re so glad he’s here And for us, yes, it’s nice to have him because he’s a very good striker.
A while back, he tried to take credit for your being here – he said it was all down to talks after the Europa League game between Leverkusen and Inter Milan. Do you remember that conversation?
yes i remember We talked after the game. I was upset that we lost. he was happy. So, he came up to me and just said that he thought Chelsea would be the right club for me. And I think I listened very well, and I’m so happy now that we play together.
Watch his first season in England. It ended on one of the highest possible highs by winning the Champions League, but 10 months or so overall – how do you rate that?
Not good for me personally, I mean, in the end, we reached our goals, we qualified for the Champions League. But I mean, not all 10 months were bad, but maybe the first four or five months weren’t right for me. I didn’t play my best football, and some people were angry with me, but I knew it would probably happen because it was a big step for me. But then I think I grew as a player, as a person and maybe sometimes these ups and downs help you as a person and also as a player and you can learn from that. And for me, yes, I feel better now, I guess. I am so happy how the season ended for me, for us. And, you know, I’m just looking to the future and will do my best to play, yeah, play good football like the end of last season.
You were just 21 when you arrived here, it’s a whole new country. You arrived, I think, 10 days before the start of the new season, so there’s no real pre-season with your new teammates. Then you get COVID in the middle of the season and there is a change of manager. It couldn’t have been less straightforward. And yet, like you said, there was a lot of criticism. He was tough, wasn’t he? Did it feel inappropriate?
Inappropriate? I do not know. I mean you came here with an 80 million pound sign on your head. I mean, of course we’re all human. But people expect you to be good when you come here at £80 million – I definitely understand that. But of course, it’s not easy sometimes, but I knew I had a strong family and strong friends behind me who always helped me. And I knew that after the rain comes the sun. And I guess I knew better times would come for me too. And that was just positive. Of course, it was difficult for me. And but yes, the teammates, the staff, they helped me a lot. And, yeah, I think it’s great again from January. And I think I still have a lot of room to improve. I’m so young right now, and I’m hungry and want to achieve more. And I hope that next, or this season, will be better for me.
I’m not going to dwell on the negatives, but which partners were most helpful to you when you were feeling low.
Yes, of course we have some Germans here like Timo, Tony and Mateo Kovacic speak German. Christian Pulisic too – sometimes it’s easier to talk to him because he speaks German. He helped me a lot, but at the same time, I have to say to all the English players – because we are in a changing room because of the COVID rules. And it was always funny you know they help you out and sometimes you even joke when you see, I don’t know Instagram – a GIF from you where everyone jokes about you. Sometimes it’s funny. So, yes, they helped me a lot, but I must say, almost everyone. We have a very strong bond here and everyone helps each other, and I think that’s why we won two titles.
Before I started I mentioned that if you look at your first season and Eden Hazard’s first season, they are very similar. So, if you follow the same path as him, I think you will be very happy.
I hope I mean he is one of the best Chelsea players ever. I hope I will do the same as him but it is not easy to compare as he is a different kind of player. But I mean you always look at the best players, and you want to achieve the same things as them. And I, I do the same. I want to achieve as many good things as possible. And I have many years ahead of me and I will try to do that.
If you look at the first few weeks of last season and compare it to the first few weeks now, do you feel very different? Can you feel the difference now from a year ago?
Yes, I mean 100%. You know, you come here, you don’t know a person, it’s another language, another type of football, another style of football, you know? Everything is new. And now I’m used to it – I’ve played with them for a year now, and I know everyone and all the staff and all the players, and of course I’m pretty settled now. There is a very nice atmosphere here. And of course the thing is different, but I think it is for every transfer, first, in the first few weeks it is always difficult. Even though I was very young, and I had no idea how change would happen. But, of course, I feel better now.
And do you have a good place in the wardrobe for a Premier League winner’s medal next to the Champions League one?
Yes, no, I mean the next target. That would be nice, but I think now after the first game it’s hard to say, “We want to win the league” because they still have 37 games to play. And we know we know we have many good adversaries. So, we just think game-wise and then we will see at the end of the season.
Live action of Chelsea vs Aston Villa match on Star Sports Select on 11th September. Commentary in Bengali and Malayalam on Star Sports 3
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