Early life

Havertz was born in Aachen , North Rhine-Westphalia. [5]

Club career

Youth career

Havertz received his first experience in football at the age of four when he joined amateur club Alemannia Mariadorf, where his grandfather, Richard, was chairman of the club. [6] In 2009, he was signed by 2. Bundesliga club Alemannia Aachen where he spent only a year in the club's academy before joining Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 11.[7] In the years that followed, he had to overcome the challenges associated with growth spurts and in 2016, after scoring 18 goals for the club's U-17 team, he was awarded the silver U-17 Fritz Walter Medal before breaking into Leverkusen's senior team the following year. [6][8][9]

Bayer Leverkusen

Havertz with Bayer Leverkusen in 2018

Havertz made his debut for Bayer Leverkusen on 15 October 2016, coming on as a second-half

substitute for Charles Aránguiz in a 2–1 Bundesliga loss to Werder Bremen. Upon entering the field of play, he became the club's youngest-ever Bundesliga debutant, at the age of 17 years and 126 days, although his record was broken (by 111 days) by Florian Wirtz in 2020. [7][10][11] On 17 February 2017, he

assisted teammate Karim Bellarabi to score the 50,000th Bundesliga goal. [12] Four days later, following the suspension of teammate Hakan ÇalhanoÄŸlu, he was handed his first Champions League start in the first leg of a round of 16 loss to Atlético Madrid .[13][14] He was ruled out of the return leg of the fixture in March, however, as the match clashed with the examinations period at his school. [15] He scored his first goal for the club on 2 April, netting a later equaliser in a 3–3 draw with VfL Wolfsburg.[16] Upon doing so, Havertz broke another club record to become Leverkusen's youngest-ever goalscorer in the Bundesliga, at the age of 17.[17] He ultimately made 28 appearances across all competitions and scored four goals, including a brace against Hertha BSC on the final day of the season, as Leverkusen ended the campaign in 12th position. [18]

On 14 April 2018, Havertz became the youngest player in the history of the Bundesliga to reach 50 appearances at 18 years and 307 days old, breaking the record previously held by Timo Werner. [19][20] He went on to end his second full campaign with the club with 30 league appearances and three goals to his name as Leverkusen ended the season in fifth place.[21]

Havertz playing for Chelsea in 2020

Havertz continued to impress during the following season, despite Leverkusen initially struggling in the league, and by the mid-way point of the campaign was the only player to have started every match for the club, scoring six goals along the way.[22] On 20 September 2018, Havertz scored his first two goals in European competitions in a 3–2 win against

 

Ludogorets Razgrad in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League.[23] On 26 January 2019, he became Leverkusen's youngest-ever penalty scorer when he scored from the spot in a 3–0 league win over Wolfsburg, aged 19 years, seven months and 16 days. [24] The following month, he became the second youngest-ever player to achieve 75 Bundesliga appearances, behind Julian Draxler , when he started and scored in a 2–0 win over Fortuna Düsseldorf.[25] On 13 April, he scored on his 100th appearance for Leverkusen to help the club to a 1–0 league win over Stuttgart. The goal, his 13th for the campaign, also saw him become the youngest player since Stuttgart's own Horst Köppel in 1967–68 to score 13 goals in a single league season. [26] On 5 May, he scored his 15th goal of the campaign during a 6–1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt ; a match which for the first time ever saw seven goals scored in the first half of a Bundesliga match. [27] On the final day of the season, he became the highest scoring teenager in a single Bundesliga campaign when he scored his 17th goal during a 5–1 win over Hertha BSC .[28] At the end of the season, he was named runner-up to Marco Reus for the German Footballer of the Year award, losing out by just 37 votes.[29]

On the opening day of the 2019–20 campaign, Havertz scored in Leverkusen's 3–2 win over Paderborn , becoming the second-youngest player of all time behind Köppel to score 25 Bundesliga goals. [30] In December, at the age of 20 years, six months and four days, he broke another of Werner's records to become the youngest-ever player to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances when he started in his team's 2–0 defeat to Köln. [31] In the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League , Havertz scored in both matches against

Porto in the round of 32, then he scored a goal in a 2–1 defeat to Inter Milan in the quarter-final. [32]

Chelsea

On 4 September 2020, Havertz signed a five-year contract with Premier League club

Chelsea .[33][34] The transfer fee was reported to be worth an initial £62 million, which could rise to £71 million with add-ons, making him Chelsea's second-most expensive signing after

Kepa Arrizabalaga. [35][36] On 14 September, he made his debut with Chelsea in the league opener against Brighton & Hove Albion , which ended in a 3–1 away win.[37] On 23 September, Havertz scored his first career hat-trick and his first Chelsea goals in a 6–0 home win over

Barnsley in the third round of the EFL Cup.[38] Havertz scored his first-ever Premier League goal against Southampton on 17 October, in a 3–3 draw at home. [39] On 4 November 2020, it was revealed that Havertz had tested positive for COVID-19 .[40]

International career

Youth

Havertz with Germany in 2019

Havertz made his debut for the Germany national under-16 team on 11 November 2014, starting in the friendly match against the Czech Republic before being substituted out in the 57th minute for Tom Baack . The match finished as a 3–1 win for Germany. [41]

Havertz was included in Germany's squad for the 2016 UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Azerbaijan. [42] He appeared in all five of Germany's matches, scoring once before Germany were eliminated by Spain in the semi-final. [citation needed]

Following a 15-month absence from youth internationals, Havertz made his debut for

Germany's under-19 team , debuting on 31 August 2017 in the 0–0 friendly draw against

Switzerland , coming on in the 72nd minute for

Palkó Dárdai .[43] On 4 October 2017, in his third appearance for the under-19 team, Havertz scored four goals in a 5–1 win against Belarus in the first round of European Under-19 Championship qualifying . [44] He was later named captain of the under-19 team. [45]

Senior

On 29 August 2018, Havertz was called up to

Germany's senior team for the first time by head coach Joachim Löw . He was included in the squad for Germany's UEFA Nations League match against France and friendly against

Peru .[45][46] Havertz made his international debut on 9 September 2018, coming on as a substitute in the 88th minute for Timo Werner against Peru, with the match finishing as a 2–1 home win for Germany. [47] Upon making his debut, he became the first player born in 1999 to represent the national team. [48]

Style of play

Havertz has been described as technically gifted, two-footed midfielder who is comfortable with the ball on either foot and adept with his head. [49] During his formative years, his style of play drew early comparisons to compatriot

Mesut Özil , with Havertz himself admitting the

Arsenal midfielder was a player he looked up to. [50] By the age of 19, and following numerous impressive performances in the Bundesliga, further comparisons had been drawn between Havertz and former Leverkusen players such as

Michael Ballack and Toni Kroos and everyone in the world began describing him as a combination of the lot and an Alleskönner – a player who can do everything. [49]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 December 2020[51]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club Season League

Division Apps Goals A

Bayer Leverkusen 2016–17 Bundesliga 24 4

2017–18 Bundesliga 30 3

2018–19 Bundesliga 34 17

2019–20 Bundesliga 30 12

Total 118 36 1

Chelsea 2020–21 Premier League 12 1

Career total 130 37 1

1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal

2. ^ Includes EFL Cup

3. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League

4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

5. ^ Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 13 October 2020[52]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team Year Apps Goals

Germany 2018 2 0

2019 5 1

2020 3 1

Total 10 2

As of match played 13 October 2020. Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Havertz goal. [52]

List of international goals scored by Kai Havertz

No. Date Venue Opponent

1 9 October 2019 Signal Iduna Park , Dortmund, Germany Argentin

2 13 October 2020 RheinEnergieStadion , Cologne, Germany Switzerl

Honours

Individual

Fritz Walter Medal U17 Silver: 2016 [53]

Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold: 2018 [54]

Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2018–19[55]

Bundesliga Player of the Month: April 2019 , May 2019, [56] May 2020[57]

UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI: 2019[58]

UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season:

2019–20[59]

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Team news and stats ahead of Liverpool vs Tottenham in the Premier League on Wednesday evening (kick-off 8pm).

Liverpool defender Joel Matip and midfielder Naby Keita remain doubts for their top-of-the-table clash with Tottenham.

Matip was forced off at half-time in Sunday's Premier League draw with Fulham with a back spasm and is receiving treatment, while Keita missed the match with a knock which could keep him out again.

Midfielders Xherdan Shaqiri (muscle), James Milner (hamstring) and Thiago Alcantara (knee) all remain sidelined.

Tottenham are likely to be without Gareth Bale for the trip to Anfield.