03 November 2020

Timo Werner rates Chelsea team-mate Kai Havertz as one of world’s best players

03 November 2020

Timo Werner has hailed compatriot and Chelsea team-mate Kai Havertz as one of the world’s most talented players.

Striker Werner believes Havertz already boasts wisdom beyond his 21 years of age, backing the Blues playmaker to improve rapidly as he settles into life in England.

Werner traded RB Leipzig for Chelsea in a £53million deal in the summer, while his Germany colleague Havertz joined Frank Lampard’s side in a £70m transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 24-year-old Werner has settled in at Chelsea the faster, with four goals to his name already, but insisted that his close friend Havertz has the capacity to dominate the English game.

“I know Kai very well and I think he is one of the most talented players in the whole world,” said Werner.

Burnley v Chelsea – Premier League – Turf Moor (PA Wire)

“He is a young boy, only 21 and he can learn a lot but can already play like a very, very old and wise player. I think up and until now he feels very well here. A bit like me, we have talked a lot about settling in and he feels he is very happy to be here.

“In a lot of games he has shown what he can do, what he can bring to the team. For Kai it is very important to score, but I think what you can see in his game he is a lot more than scoring goals as a midfield player.

“He plays a lot of key passes, makes a lot of movement for other players. He is very talented and feels good.

“He will get better and better, like me he has come to a new country, language and style of football and has to learn. But until now he plays very good and we will see a lot more good games from him.”

Chelsea will entertain Rennes in Wednesday’s Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge, with Werner confident he has already adapted to the English game.

And having had time to assess Chelsea’s new-look squad, Werner believes the Blues boast an abnormal amount of talent – leaving him even more confident about their chances of major silverware.

Werner arrived at Chelsea insisting he had moved to London to win the biggest titles, and sees no reason to temper that ambition, having found his feet in London.

Asked if he now feels at home at Chelsea, Werner said: “Of course. At the beginning always when you come to a new country, a new league, to come to a different style of football it’s always something different.

“Now I think I’m here in the league – I know how to play, I know what ways are better for my game, better for my team, better for my team-mates.

“I feel really comfortable now and I hope it will go on like this.

“I think every team that plays in the Champions League or the Europa League play on Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, and it’s difficult. But I think we have a big squad, a really big squad of good players.

“That’s not normal. We have so many players, and so many good players. We have to have the goal to come very far in this competition.

“We are not here to say: ‘OK, come into the next round and then we’ll see’. We are here to win in the next year the Champions League.

“And this year is also a good year because everybody in the competition has a lot of games and every team has to think about how can I manage it, who can I play, how many games can they play one game after one game.

“For me I think we have a good chance this year, but also in the next year.

“I said when I arrived here I want to win titles. We want to win titles this year and we are on a good way.

“We learned from each other and we learned how to play together and we get on, we have a good chance to go very far in this competition.”

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