Without Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz can play as number nine, asserts Thomas Tuchel

Kai Havertz established himself as one of the hottest teenage prospects in European football during his spell with Bayer Leverkusen. It saw the German snapped up by Chelsea, on a five-year contract for an initial fee of £62 million, once the club heard that he was available for transfer. However, Havertz initially struggled under Frank Lampard due to a wealth of riches at his disposal that saw the English manager struggle to fit the German into his side. 

"Without Romelu , we can play with Kai as a number nine. For me, it’s not so much of a false nine. Kai is also very strong in the last line and behind the last line, arriving in the box. When he plays as a number nine we want this from him, and he did that against Malmo. The game will be a bit different without Romelu, but we want the same power, the same amount of people in the same spaces when we finish our attacks,” Tuchel said in his pre-match press conference.