Kai Havertz

Who is Kai Havertz?

Kai Havertz is a German playmaker who plays for the Premier League club Chelsea and the Germany national team.

He received his first experience in football in 2003 when he joined the amateur club Alemannia Mariadorf.

Six years later, he was signed by 2. Bundesliga outfit Alemannia Aachen where Kai spent only a year in the club’s academy before signing for Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 11.

Havertz made his debut for Die Werkself on 15 October 2016. Upon entering the field of play, Kai became their youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant, at the age of 17 years and 126 days.

In 2018, Havertz became the youngest player in the history of the German top-flight to reach 50 appearances at 18 years and 307 days old, smashing the record previously held by Timo Werner.

The following year, he became the club’s youngest-ever penalty scorer when he netted from the spot in a 3–0 league victory over Wolfsburg, aged 19 years, seven months and 16 days.

In February 2019, he became the second youngest-ever player to feature in 75 Bundesliga matches, behind Julian Draxler.

On the campaign’s final day, Kai became the highest-scoring teenager in a single Bundesliga season when he scored his 17th goal during a 5–1 win against Hertha BSC.

On the opening day of the 2019–20 term, Havertz scored in his team’s 3–2 win over Paderborn, becoming the second-youngest player of all time behind Horst Koppel to score 25 top-flight goals.

In December, the German broke another of Timo’s records to become the youngest-ever player to reach 100 league appearances.

On 4 September 2020, Havertz penned a five-year contract with the Blues. The transfer sum was reported to be worth an initial £62m, which could rise to £71m with bonuses.

On 29 May 2021, he netted Chelsea’s only goal of the match in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final against Manchester City.

What is Kai Havetz’s international career like?

He made his debut for his country’s national U16 team on 11 November 2014, starting in the friendly game against the Czech Republic.

Kai was included in Germany’s roster for the UEFA European U17 Championship in 2016. He made his debut for Germany’s U19 team in 2017.

The following year, Havertz was called up to his nation’s senior team for the first time by manager Joachim Low.

Kai made his international debut in 2018. Havertz became the first player born in 1999 to represent Germany’s national team upon making his debut.

How can we describe Kai Havertz?

Kai is a technically gifted, two-footed attacking midfielder who is adept with his head and comfortable with the ball on either foot.

Kai’s style of play drew early comparisons to the former Germany international Mesut Ozil, with Kai himself admitting the Fernebahce star was a player he looked up to.

By the age of 19, and following numerous stunning performances in the Bundesliga, further comparisons had been drawn between him and former Leverkusen stars such as Michael Ballack and Toni Kroos, and some began describing Havertz as a combination of the aforementioned trio and an Alleskonner – a player who can do everything.