Is Kai Havertz the right player for Chelsea?

The rumour mills were buzzing about Kai Havertz's looming transfer to Chelsea over the last few weeks until Frank Lampard quelled the excitement in a press conference, claiming no official bid has been submitted yet.

However, that does not imply that Chelsea have shelved the idea completely as they will look to upgrade their squad with a gargantuan transfer war chest after the transfer embargo last summer. Chelsea have already sealed the transfers of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, and it doesn't look like Marina Granovskaia is going for a holiday just yet.

Let us look at why Chelsea would be better off resisting the urge to splurge on the German international.

Chelsea's youth revolution

Former Chelsea players Kevin de Bruyne (left) and Romelu Lukaku (right) training with the Belgium national team

Many Chelsea fans still cannot let go of the feeling of what could have been if some of the prodigies the club had snapped up several years ago were still on the Stamford Bridge register today, In this regard, the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Mohamed Salah are the most prominent ones. To add insult to injury, all these players went on to score crucial goals against the Blues in ensuing matches and have notched up the kind of statistics most Chelsea players at that time could not match up to.

In the past, the Chelsea board has erred in judgement by taking the side of managers who weren't willing to give these players enough opportunities. The club failed to gauge the players' potential and did not make a prudent strategy to develop them. That led to talented players walking out of Stamford Bridge to make a name for themselves elsewhere. It is also rather unfortunate that Chelsea made a pittance from the sales of the three aforementioned players compared to the profits amassed by the clubs that gave them opportunities to prove themselves.

Very few clubs in the upper echelons of European football would have managed to keep themselves in the running in all competitions after a transfer ban, especially after the sale of a marquee player of the stature of Eden Hazard. However, Chelsea have largely managed to keep denigrators at bay, primarily due to the emergence of academy starlets who would otherwise have continued to remain a part of the club's infamous 'loan army'.

Chelsea's transfer embargo forced manager Frank Lampard to recall several loanees and dip into a youth academy that was already brimming with potential. Now after a year into his tenure, most observers would call the transfer embargo a blessing in disguise for the club, as they were certainly one of the few clubs that were in a position to ride through the crisis relatively unscathed.

Whatever transpired this season has certainly given fresh hope to those in the Chelsea academy ranks. Many youth starlets are now looking forward to extending their contracts with the club after witnessing the progression of fellow academy products to the first team. But this time around, the club must make an effort to tweak their transfer strategy to ensure that it doesn't stifle the development of the youngsters and keep these starlets looking forward to first-team action.

Is Kai Havertz the ideal player for Chelsea?

Kai Havertz's arrival could impede the development of Chelsea's youth academy products like Callum Hudson-Odoi (left) and Ruben Loftus-Cheek (right)

On 10th December 2014, elated Chelsea fans rose to applaud 18-year old Ruben Loftus-Cheek as he made his way onto the pitch for the final seven minutes of the game with Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League.

This was the first player from the club's youth academy in a long time to don the jersey of the senior football team and was the precursor to many academy products who have subsequently graduated to the first-team. Fast forward to the present day, and we are witnessing a revolution in the Chelsea's first team, with several players from the academy making it to the London club's matchday squads.

The purchase of Kai Havertz, in this regard, could impede the progress of several Chelsea stars in the making. The German is usually played as a central attacking midfielder, and sometimes as a right-winger.

His signing would directly threaten the positions of Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the Chelsea line-up, and perhaps even that of Callum Hudson-Odoi. The brawny Loftus-Cheek and the nimble yet tenacious Mount possess a range of skills to thrive in the position of a central attacking midfielder.

Ross Barkley would also contest to lay his claim to that position. Adding Havertz to the mix could push the aforementioned Chelsea academy products lower down the pecking order, which is not going to please them as they are just beginning to make their claims for a permanent spot in the England national team set-up.

This would only happen, however, if Lampard does opt for a formation that requires a central attacking midfielder, and so far the Englishman has only employed a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 for the most part. Havertz's would be a hefty investment to make to provide an option for an alternate formation, considering that Chelsea already have some highly talented players in their ranks that can do the job.

The competition for the Chelsea flanks will also be high between Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech, and Callum Hudson-Odoi to add to a potent attacking force. Timo Werner could also deputise for that position. The futures of Willian and Pedro are unclear at the moment, but if even one of them do remain with Chelsea, it could give Frank Lampard a serious selection headache.

While Chelsea have burnt their fingers in the past by luring proven talents in the market at the expense of gems within their academy, one hopes that the club has finally learnt the balancing act between spending on big names and putting their money on their whizz-kids.