Tuchel reveals his plan to unlock Havertz's potential

The new Chelsea boss has given his verdict on Havertz and how he plans to bring out his fellow German’s potential.

Kai Havertz has ‘so much potential’, says Thomas Tuchel, who believes the 21-year-old ‘needs to be pushed’ and ‘challenged physically’ to extract his maximum abilities.

The former Bayer Leverkusen star has struggled to live up to his €80m price tag this season. He failed to impress under Frank Lampard, but delivered a more promising display in Tuchel’s goalless Blues debut against Wolves last week.

“What I feel from him is that he is a very intelligent, friendly and open guy who has a lot of potential – and we will push him,” said Tuchel as quoted on the Mirror.

“He seems like the guy who needs to be pushed and we won’t stop doing it.

“For him, this league is perfect because he cannot rest. He has so much potential that he needs to be challenged physically, so he doesn’t just rely on his endless talent. This is good. In the end, the question is: does he show his teeth in the end when it gets tough?

“I was happy yesterday that it was him who got the almost decisive header in the box against all these towering, strong players from Wolverhampton. It would have been a nice moment at the end of the match.

“He doesn’t hesitate, and this is what I want to see from him. Then the rest will come, because this guy can be a huge, huge part of this club.”

Havertz hopes to make the line-up again for Tuchel’s second game in charge of Chelsea against Burnley on Sunday afternoon.