Whilst it may have gotten fans riled up at the time, Kopites will be thanking Michael Edwards and co now for avoiding a move for Kai Havertz. The Germany international attracted a bulk load of attention after his impressive 2019/20 performance for Bayer Leverkusen.

With 12 goals and six assists in 30 Bundesliga appearances, there was no question as to why so many clubs were interested in signing the midfield star. In the end, Chelsea made the 21-year-old part of their lavish summer spending spree and forked out an eye-watering £75.8million for his signature.

Despite the fact he enjoyed a clinical performance against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup, he has struggled to find his groove in the Premier League. Havertz has opened up his account with a goal and two assists in England’s top flight, but his hesitance to do more has got some questioning his form.

Liverpool right to snub move for Havertz

Journalist Jean-Luc Arribart recently spoke to Ouest-France about Chelsea’s squad and has praised Frank Lampard for noticing and repairing their defensive frailties. However, he highlighted the Chelsea midfield as the main area of concern, and pointed the finger at Havertz in particular.

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“For me, the problem in the XI is Havertz, who was bought for €80m and who has Lampard’s trust,” Arribart said. “He tends to play it a bit easy. A bit like Robert Pirès when he arrived in England, he needs to muscle his game.”

Similarly, Frank Leboeuf admitted he wasn’t convinced by the German’s performances so far and thinks that he often “disappears” when he is out on the pitch (per ESPN, via TEAMtalk).

Indeed, whilst Havertz was successful in 100% of his dribble attempts against Burnley last time out, he failed to make much impact on the attack. Despite the fact Chelsea won 3-0, the 21-year-old could have been described as a passenger in the midfield. He managed to muster up just one key pass and one shot on target and was otherwise pretty absent as the Blues ran out a comfortable win (via SofaScore).

Meanwhile, Liverpool boast new signing Diogo Jota, who netted his first hat-trick for the club against Atalanta on Tuesday. Whilst Thiago Alcantara is currently out of action, he has also impressed from the off. The Reds will be thrilled that they decided not to splurge mega money on a signing who is seemingly struggling to adapt to the tempo of the Premier League.

In other news, Liverpool could have transformed Dele Alli had they snapped him up before Spurs…