Kai Havertz gives his verdict on new Chelsea signing Raheem Sterling

Kai Havertz is full of praise for ‘great player’ Raheem Sterling and is looking forward to lining up alongside him in a new look Chelsea front line.

Sterling has arrived at Stamford Bridge from Manchester City in one of the biggest signings of the season and is likely to be a regular in the starting XI alongside Havertz.

The German looks set to play in the no.9 role for the Blues this campaign, with no new striker replacing the outgoing Romelu Lukaku yet, with Sterling due to take a place either on the flank or just off Havertz.

The former Bayer Leverkusen forward knows all about Sterling from games against him at club and international level and rates him very highly.

‘We all know that he is a great player,’ Havertz said. ‘I saw a stat about him that he has had the most goals and assists for Man City in the last five years or something like that. That tells the whole story of him.

‘He was a great player for City and the national team as well, hopefully, he can keep up his level here. For me and of course, for everyone, he is going to help.

‘I think in every game you can see that. I know the game against England at the Euros, he played well.

‘You can see his quality here already and it’s been just a few days. You can see in training how good he is, how fast he is. He is definitely going to help us.’

On taking the central striker role under Thomas Tuchel, Havertz admits it has come as something of a surprise, but he is loving it.

‘I’ve played a lot of positions over the years but last season I played a lot as a no.9 and it’s a position I like very much,’ he said.

‘If I look back four years ago, I could never have imagined playing there. But the last two years I’ve played it more often and I like the position.

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