Kai Havertz is a player with a high football IQ. I know many players get considered intelligent because they behave well under pressure, but Havertz is different. His actions do make sense all the time and give his team much-needed solutions in possession. The young German combines all types of passes with good off-ball movement and extraordinary behaviour under pressure. No matter if his team needs through balls, long balls to switch sides or quick one-touch passes in tight spaces. Kai Havertz offers all those passes.
When Bayer Leverkusen had problems with injuries, Kai Havertz had to play as a central midfielder. While Leverkusen struggled Havertz was one of the better players an unfamiliar position. From a technical standpoint Kai Havertz doesn’t seem to be the perfect offensive midfielder. Especially, his first touch isn’t always the best. But he is capable of quickly controlling and protecting the ball afterwards. His second touch is always pretty good and allows him to dribble past the opponent or play the dangerous pass. Furthermore, he can play accurate passes even without having the best body position. Havertz not only plays the simple flat through balls during counter-attacks. His good observation of the game allows him to see the open space and be aware of the movement of the defenders. Besides his passing abilities, Havertz shows that he can be a dangerous offensive player who can surprise a defence when they are concentrating on the striker. Havertz shows great awareness of holes in the defence. That’s why he is so dangerous after crosses. The fact that he often appears in the right spot at the right time is a positive sign and a clear indicator of his high football IQ. The technical execution is trainable easily, however, learning how and when to arrive in the box is harder. His timing when starting runs is really impressive and defenders normally struggle to defend those situations, especially if the striker waits in the right spot, the defender has to observe the ball and the striker simultaneously. Problems occur when the striker is positioned behind the defender because then the defender can only react to the movement. It is impossible to observe both, the ball and his opponent, at the same time. Using that advantage correctly, Havertz time after time arrives in the dangerous space while the defender often cannot adjust his position quickly enough to cover the midfield run. Funnily enough, Lampard is the closest midfielder I can think of who has utilized this to perfection.
No matter which position Kai Havertz plays, the fact that he rarely struggles under pressure makes him so valuable for his team. Although Havertz has great technical abilities his dribblings look sometimes inaccurate but are highly effective. His biggest strength is his usage of open space. When a defender pushes out of position Havertz has a great timing of pushing the ball into the open space and therefore unbalance the defender. That’s why he often gets fouled.
the kid looks good but he's not a patch on Zidane ffs