The former Bayer Leverkusen man is “happy” to help the team out in a variety of positions ahead of the Premier League opener with Brighton
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard believes that the versatility of new signing Kai Havertz could be the attacker’s chief strength.
Signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a club-record £70 million ($91m,) the 21-year-old can play across the forward line but also deeper in the midfield.
Lampard believes that such adaptability makes the Germany international, who scored 18 times and laid on another nine for his previous club last term, the ideal addition to a squad that has seen terrific investment in it over the summer.
“Kai, with his qualities, is flexible to play in different positions; I haven’t changed my view in a few days of seeing him so I think we can use his versatility,” he said.
“One of the pluses when I spoke to Kai is that he is very comfortable. He is not that: ‘I want to play in this position, this is all I want’.
“He is potentially very happy to help the team, he can give us quality in different areas so it is not one that we have to nail down.”
Chelsea open their Premier League campaign on Monday with a trip to Brighton, but will have to do without summer additions Hakim Ziyech and Ben Chilwell due to injuries.
With Timo Werner set to debut, the Blues are also set to be boosted by the return of Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta, who have both overcome hamstring complaints.
“I am very happy to have them both back,” Lampard said.
“They both trained on Wednesday, their first day fully training with the team.
“They are in contention for Monday. I have to be careful. I have a squad to pick from, but the way they are training and the attitude they have come back with looks like they are over those injuries.
“I will just have to make sure I manage them back in in their own ways.”
Chelsea go into the new campaign aiming to better the fourth-place finish they attained last season, which was enough to see them qualify for the Champions League but not sufficient for any silverware as they lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup final.
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