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Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has revealed that Kai Havertz and Timo Werner were 'shocked' by the intensity of the Premier League. Both Germans arrived at Stamford Bridge during Lampard's reign in the 2020 summer transfer window.
Havertz and Werner struggled early on and didn't enjoy a particularly great first season at Chelsea. However, the duo have become vital to the Blues' style of play under Thomas Tuchel.
Speaking to Gary Neville on The Overlap, Lampard outlined how his two big-money signings endured adaptation issues upon arriving in England. The Chelsea legend said (as quoted by Metro):
"With Timo and Kai, there was clearly going to be adaptation issues. I know that from being in it because they were shocked at the speed of training, they were shocked by the physical demands of the game."
However, Lampard went on to add that most foreign players faced similar issues when they entered the Premier League.
"Pretty much any player goes through those periods. Timo and Kai had that in the early days, Kai had terrible Covid as well which set him back quite a lot."
The Englishman, who managed Chelsea between 2019 and 2021, also opened up about the signing of Werner. The German forward had been courted by the likes of Liverpool, but ultimately joined the Blues for around £48 million. Lampard said:
"Timo was a big [signing] because Liverpool wanted him, Man United were in for him. We knew there were three or four big clubs [trying to sign him] so when I spoke to Timo I knew I had to be on my game to try and get him to come."
Chelsea duo Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are steadily improving under Thomas Tuchel
Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were poor during Frank Lampard's reign at Chelsea. Havertz, who joined the Blues from Bayer Leverkusen for around £70 million, managed just five goals and six assists in 24 matches under Lampard. Meanwhile, Werner found the back of the net just nine times and laid out seven assists in 28 matches.
However, the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in the Chelsea dugout has seemingly revitalized both players. In Tuchel's ongoing reign, Havertz's numbers haven't particularly improved, as he has only eight goals and six assists in 39 matches. However, his work-rate and technical ability finally seem to be coming to the fore.
Similarly, Werner's numbers have also not drastically improved as he has netted just six times in 36 matches under Tuchel. He has provided 10 assists though, and Romelu Lukaku's arrival is expected to take some of the goalscoring burden off his shoulders.
Havertz and Werner have already won the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup with Chelsea as well.
