Manchester United legend compares Chelsea’s Kai Havertz with former teammate

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has compared Chelsea star Kai Havertz with his former teammate Dimitar Berbatov. Havertz gave a good account of himself against Atletico Madrid in midweek.

The young German joined Chelsea in the summer of 2020 but has largely struggled to adjust to life at his new club. Things went from bad to worse when he contracted COVID-19 during his first few weeks in England.

Nevertheless, Ferdinand believes Havertz has the same qualities as Berbatov, which should enable him to eventually succeed in the Premier League.

Speaking to BT Sport, Ferdinand said that the Chelsea star would need time to come to his own. The Manchester United legend was quick to point out that very few players hit the ground running after arriving in the Premier League.

“Not all players come here and hit the ground running. But you can see the quality is there. We saw when he was at Bayer Leverkusen in previous years that he is a hugely talented footballer, and it is going to take him time. But in the end, he will get there because he is somebody who has a good feel for the game” said Ferdinand.

Rio Ferdinand says Chelsea's Kai Havertz reminds him of "silky" ex-Man Utd teammate https://t.co/3xnt6NDijl pic.twitter.com/0QdCDjnw3l

— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) March 18, 2021

Drawing comparisons between Havertz and Dimitar Berbatov, Ferdinand said:

“He reminds me a little of (Dimitar) Berbatov in how cool, calm and collected he is. He is very silky; he plays on the edge of the game a little bit at times and drifts about. Once he gets that part of his game, I think everything will fall into place” said Ferdinand.

Chelsea's Havertz and Berbatov share a similar career path

Dimitar Berbatov

In 30 appearances for Chelsea this season, Havertz has scored five times. The Blues are currently fourth in the Premier League, six points behind second-placed Manchester United.

They have shown signs of resurgence under new manager Thomas Tuchel, with Kai Havertz also rediscovering his mojo.

Big results over 2 ties 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/zsMRuq5R8V

— Kai Havertz (@kaihavertz29) March 17, 2021

Incidentally, like Havertz, Berbatov also arrived in the Premier League from Bayer Leverkusen.

The Bulgarian joined Manchester United after three seasons at Tottenham Hotspur. Berbatov won a host of silverware in his four seasons at Old Trafford, something Havertz would like to emulate.