'An exceptional talent': Jamie Redknapp lavishes praise on Chelsea FC star Kai Havertz
Jamie Redknapp explains why he has been so impressed by Chelsea FC's Kai Havertz lately
Jamie Redknapp has heaped praise on Kai Havertz following his recent good form for Chelsea FC.
The Germany attacker has been settling into life at Stamford Bridge since having signed for the south west London side from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window last year.
Havertz initially made something of a slow start to his Chelsea FC career but he has been catching the eye with some of his performances under Thomas Tuchel in recent games.
The 21-year-old scored both goals in Chelsea FC’s recent 2-0 victory over Fulham in the Premier League and he is showing signs of improvement in a Blues shirt.
He also played the full 90 minutes as he helped Chelsea FC to claim a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final last week.
Former Liverpool FC midfielder Redknapp has been highly impressed by what he has seen from Havertz lately in a Chelsea FC shirt.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Redknapp said: “Havertz was a player that really impressed me against Real Madrid.
“Over the last three or four weeks, you can see a young player with tremendous quality. He glides around the pitch, it’s effortless for him and the qualities he possesses.
“That’s why I was understanding of his problems earlier in the year: he’d had Covid, he’d been away from home in a year like no other, family and friends couldn’t visit him… We expect players to come into our league and hit the ground running and be amazing but it just doesn’t work like that.
“I think from his perspective, the form we’re seeing Havertz in now is the player I watched a lot in the Bundesliga last year.
“I was pretty sure he was going to become that player. He had a similar season in Germany to that, where in the first half of the season he struggled then second half he really came into his own.
“He’s an exceptional talent. He travels so well with the ball. A little bit like – and I’m not comparing him to him yet – but Kevin De Bruyne, who has that unbelievable pace when he dribbles with it and so does Havertz.
“He’s very quick with the ball. You could see it at times against Real Madrid as he was going past people.”
Chelsea FC will take on Manchester City in the Champions League final in Istanbul on 29 May.
