IT seems unlikely that Chelsea’s off-field drama is directly linked to Kai Havertz’s (£4.1m) upturn in form but the timing is notable.
Ever since Roman Abramovich’s ownership was put under the microscope following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Germany international has been the Blues’ inspirational figure and matchwinner.
Havertz scored in the 2-0 victory over Lille in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 and since then he’s only failed to score against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.
However, because he bagged a brace at Burnley’s expense, the 22-year-old boasts a current record of five goals in his last five appearances – cue YouTube compilations entitled: The Sanctioned Pele!
Naturally, this fine run of form has translated to Dream Team success.
Havertz has banked 40 points in his last five outings and has also enjoyed a spike in popularity.
A decent chunk of of Dream Team gaffers pivoted to Havertz after Romelu Lukaku’s (£5.0m) now infamous seven-touch showing at Crystal Palace – and those who took the plunge have been handsomely rewarded.
Whereas the hulking a Belgian is a more traditional striker, Havertz is a more modern iteration of a centre-forward, one that floats between the lines and doesn’t strictly occupy the space around the centre-backs.
Crucially, he’s proficient in the air and is therefore still a good target for crosses into the box.
This approach has seemingly improved Chelsea’s cohesive forward unit, on the evidence of recent weeks at least, and with more favourable fixtures to come it’s not too late to jump aboard the Havertz hype train.
Chelsea play Lille in midweek before travelling to Middlesbrough for an FA Cup sixth round clash on Saturday.
Then in April they face Brentford, Southampton, Leeds, West Ham and Everton in the Premier League – four of those five match-ups should appeal to Havertz owners in a big way.
This profitable spell has taken the former Bayer Leverkusen man to the the brink of Dream Team’s top ten forwards for the season.
He’s now just one point behind tenth-placed Patson Daka (£3.0m) having moved onto 93 points overall after his winner against Newcastle.
