Despite a string of decent runs in all competitions ever since Thomas Tuchel has taken over the reins at Stamford Bridge, a new problem has been rearing its ugly head of late. Chelsea has started having severe problems on the wings as the glaring absence of Ben Chilwell and Reece James has started opening up gaps and bouts of unwanted inactivity from the sides.
As Chelsea takes on Norwich City on Thursday, Reece James won’t be playing any part in it due to his muscular injury. Given his rollicking showdown against Burnley, his absence will be creating a major impact for the Blues.
Thomas Tuchel desperate to arrest Kai Havertz’s decline
The wings haven’t been as explosive as Tuchel would want to be may it be in any particular area, spanning from cutbacks to long crosses. Needless to say, when two of your major attacking areas do not feature your best options, you are bound to lose out the top two spots to the ones who have actually deserved it.
Juergen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s Liverpool and Manchester City respectively are the only two teams to have whipped in more than 400 crosses in the ongoing season wherein Chelsea could only manage 322 as per the statistics published by FBref.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has been one of the major culprits as he has failed to drive into the box after beating a defender. Either he has ended up bundling his runs into a scrimmage or he has overtly reluctant to just put in that extra yard.
If Hudson-Odoi is to be blamed for not crossing from the sides or failing to drill into the opposition’s final third, Kai Havertz must be labelled with the crime of failing to fire home the opportunities sliding down his stride.
However, Tuchel is well aware of the caliber that the German marksman is blessed with and hopes that the purchase of Moussa Diaby can very well be the key to unlocking the complete potential of Kai Havertz.
Leverkusen has made it clear that they will be seeking a price of 75 million Euros for Havertz and anything short of it will not be entertained. Now with Havertz bought for the same price, Chelsea may express hesitation about the same. The duo of Havertz and Diaby spread terror in the hearts of oppositions as they ran riots in Bayern Leverkusen.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Gabriel Agbonlahor quoted, “When I look at Chelsea, I look at how much they miss Reece James and Ben Chilwell.”
He further added, “You’ve got quality players to fill in like [Marcos] Alonso and [Cesar] Azpilicueta, but they’re not as good. How many goals has [Romelu] Lukaku scored from crosses from Chilwell and James? I actually felt sorry for Lukaku [against Brighton]. The only way he was going to score was if he took a couple of players on and got a shot off.”
The erstwhile Premier League striker pointed at the fact how Chelsea must focus their attention on emulating the likes of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez if they are to produce something fruitful down the wings.
