Kai Havertz “will get better and better”, according to Timo Werner, who has talked up the talents of his “wise” Chelsea team-mate. Havertz moved to west London from Bayer Leverkusen for an initial fee of £70 million ($104m) in the summer transfer window, with the Blues seeing off competition from the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to land one of the most sought-after young players in European football.

The 21-year-old has featured prominently in Frank Lampard’s starting XI at the start of the season, contributing four goals and three assists across his first 10 appearances, but has drawn criticism for a perceived lack of influence in the final third.

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However, Werner thinks his fellow Germany international has already made a positive impact for Chelsea and has no doubt that his output will increase as he adjusts to the demands of English football.

“I know Kai very well and I think he is one of the most talented players in the whole world,” the Chelsea striker said ahead of a Champions League meeting with Rennes on Wednesday. 

“He is a young boy, only 21 and he can learn a lot but can already play like a very, very old and wise player. I think up until now he feels very well here. A bit like me, we have talked a lot about settling in and he feels he is very happy to be here. In a lot of games, he has shown what he can do, what he can bring to the team.

“For Kai it is very important to score, but I think what you can see in his game, he is about a lot more than scoring goals as a midfield player. He plays a lot of key passes, makes a lot of movement for other players.

“He is very talented and feels good. He will get better and better, like me he has come to a new country, language and style of football and has to learn. “But until now he plays very well and we will see a lot more good games from him.”

Werner also swapped the Bundesliga for the Premier League over the summer, joining Chelsea from RB Leipzig in a £47.5m ($62m) deal, and has since scored five goals in 10 games for the club. The 24-year-old says he is enjoying life at the Bridge and is confident that the team is heading in the right direction after a period of adjustment at the start of the season.

“The first 10 games for Chelsea were really good for me. I learned a lot. I learned a lot about British football and the Premier League,” he said. “I thought it was different to German football in the way we play because of other differences in the league.”But up until now, I am very happy. It makes it a lot of fun to play here, a lot of fun to play with the guys. We have a good team.

“You see now that when everybody is fit and come out of quarantine and come out of injuries, and we play and train for two months together, we see we have a very good team. “We learn much more than two weeks ago. For me it makes it a lot of fun to be here, it makes it a lot of fun to play my first games and if we go on with the next games like this it will be perfect.”

Asked if he feels at home at Chelsea, Werner added: “Of course. In the beginning, always when you come to a new country, a new league, to come to a different style of football it’s always something different.

“Now I think I’m here in the league – I know how to play, I know what ways are better for my game, better for my team, better for my team-mates. “I feel comfortable now and I hope it will go on like this.” The striker was also pressed on the Blues’ chances of conquering Europe, to which he responded: “For me, I think we have a good chance this year, but also in the next year. I said when I arrived here I want to win titles.

“We want to win titles this year and we are in a good way. We learned from each other and we learned how to play together and we get on, we have a good chance to go very far in this competition.”

Goal.com