‘Player we thought Havertz would be’ – Chelsea praised for replacing flop with better man
Jason Cundy has praised Chelsea for getting the player they “thought Kai Havertz would be”, in Cole Palmer, who’s already shining at the club.
The Blues have missed more than they have hit in transfer windows of late. They’ve spent over £1billion in just over a year since Todd Boehly became chairman and they have a 12th-placed finish to show for it, and are currently 11th.
The likes of Enzo Fernandez and Raheem Sterling have been fine additions, but there have been another 28 players that have walked through the door alongside them, with a fair few missing the mark.
They may have found themselves a gem in Palmer, though. The 21-year-old was clearly a very promising asset, having joined from Manchester City at the end of the summer window for £45million, but he’s already stepped into a useful role for Chelsea.
He’s scored once and assisted twice in six games, and repaid the faith of Mauricio Pochettino for giving him a second Premier League start by both scoring and assisting in that game, against Burnley.
That performance has got ex-Blues man Cundy raving, as he feels the club have already managed to replace summer departure Havertz with a better player.
“Cole Palmer is turning out to be the player that we hoped Kai Havertz would be,” he said on talkSPORT.
“He’s in a slightly different position but he’s the player that we hoped Havertz would turn into and he looks like a class act.”
Havertz scored the winner in a Champions League final for the Blues, but that their main attacking asset never managed to score 10 league goals in any of his three seasons at the club will have been a concern.
While Palmer isn’t playing in the same role, Cundy clearly believes he’ll bring more attacking threat than Havertz did.
He also thinks the Stamford Bridge outfit have deserved more than they’ve got this season, but they were right up to scratch against Burnley.
“We’ve not played badly this season. The performances have not got us the results that I think we’ve deserved but today we were ruthless,” he added.
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