Chelsea forward Kai Havertz has admitted being surprised by the timing of Chelsea’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel and replace him with former Brighton manager Graham Potter at the Stamford Bridge this early in the season.

Chelsea forward Kai Havertz has admitted being surprised by the timing of Chelsea’s decision to sack Thomas Tuchel and replace him with former Brighton manager Graham Potter at the Stamford Bridge this early in the season.

Ever since he signed for Chelsea following his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020, Havertz’s most iconic moment in The Blues’ shirt arrived when he dribbled past Ederson to score the only goal in the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City in 2021 that helped the London-based club to win the second Champions League trophy in their history.

Things haven’t exactly taken shape how they promised for Havertz since then and the German forward has struggled to score goals consistently despite being backed over club’s record signing Romelu Lukaku last season who is now on loan once again at Inter Milan.

The lack of offensive contribution has contributed to a chronic case of impotency in attack for Chelsea who have struggled to get off the blocks this season. Following the 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, manager Thomas Tuchel who also clashed with new owner Todd Boehly over the signings of several players during the summer, paid the price for it and was sacked almost immediately.

He was swiftly replaced by former Brighton manager Graham Potter who built himself a reputation of punching above his weight in England. However, Potter’s first foray at a club as big as Chelsea also ended in disappointment as the Blues drew with FC Salzburg in the Champions League to win their first point in the European competition group stage this season.

Speaking to German magazine, Havertz, who is now on international duty with Germany, expressed his surprise at the decision to sack Tuchel.

“Me too (it surprised me). Especially when you consider how we’ve played in the past year and a half and what we’ve won.

“With the current sixth place in the table, you can’t speak of a messed up start to the season, especially since we have many newcomers who first have to acclimatize But football is very fast-moving, a lot can happen at any time,” said Havertz.

With that being said, the forward is also excited to work under Potter and hopes that Chelsea will enjoy a successful period with him. 

“Our new coach has made a very good impression, we have a great squad,” he continued.

“I think we are in for a good time.”