Arsenal can turn Kai Havertz into a superstar after Chelsea wasted his talents

When Kai Havertz joined Chelsea in September 2020, it was billed as a transformative signing. Here was a 21-year-old with all the attributes and potential to be a generational superstar; a player who, still in the infancy of his career, scored 18 and 20 goals in his previous two seasons for Bayer Leverkusen operating predominantly as a second striker or No 10.

Such was the hype surrounding Havertz that he was expected to join Real Madrid, only for financial constraints brought on by the pandemic to open the door for Chelsea to swoop in and complete a £62 million deal.

“Kai is one of the best players of his age in world football, so we are very happy that his future lies at Chelsea,” then Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said in Havertz's announcement statement.

And yet, just three years later, Havertz's future lies not with Chelsea but at their rivals Arsenal. The Premier League runners-up will, barring any unexpected last-minute hiccups, announce the 24-year-old Germany international as their first signing of the summer this week.

Chelsea may recoup the transfer fee they paid for Havertz – a key reason behind their willingness to sell as the club aims to balance the books after a record-breaking, £530 million spent on new players during the past year – but there can be no disputing that the German's talents were frustratingly wasted at Stamford Bridge.

There were various contributing factors to his largely underwhelming debut season; from requiring time to adapt and struggling with the after-effects of contracting Covid-19, to then manager Frank Lampard's failure to fit Havertz into his system. Still, it was salvaged by scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final against Manchester City.

Expectations were