Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes Chelsea attacking midfielder Kai Havertz needs to get used to not being the main man for his club if he is to be a success at Stamford Bridge.

The German struggled once again in the 1-0 defeat to Everton yesterday and speaking about the 21-year-old’s form, Merson says that it is a similar situation as to when Michael Ballack arrived from Bayern Munich:

“I’d give him time I think he’s a special player. When you’re playing for a team and you’re getting 100 touches of the ball and you go to a team and getting 50 that cuts down your chances of being good. I think he’s got to get used to it. Ballack had the same situation when he moved to Chelsea. Everything went through him when he was in Germany, he comes over to Chelsea and he’s not the star man.”

“You have to make sure that killer pass happens and you start chasing the game you think you’re not touching the ball as many times and now I’ve got to try and hit the Hollywood pass or get the ball through the eye of a needle when you don’t have to. But I’d definitely be patient with him I think this lad will turn out to be a special footballer, he’s only young and it’s hard for him. He’s come into a team and they are flying and he just hasn’t got going yet.”

It is a fair assessment from Merson. Not only is Havertz getting used to playing in a new league but, he is also not the only playmaker in the team. At Bayer Leverkusen, he was used as the link man and focal point of attacks but that is simply not going to be the case at the Blues.

With the likes of Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Timo Werner all expecting time on the ball, Havertz will have to get used to having fewer touches and making more of an impact when he is in possession.