Why Chelsea Are Right to Prioritise Signing Kai Havertz Over Jadon Sancho

When Roman Abramovich isn't buying new mansions, jetting around on his yacht or being falsely linked with spending millions on Edvard Munch masterpieces, he's busy plotting ways to ruin football once again.

The Chelsea owner has already shown his desire to invest this summer. Hakim Ziyech has put pen to paper and Timo Werner is expected to follow suit soon, but that's just the start. The consensus is Chelsea are not finished yet.

For most fans, the dream signing for the last year has been Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho, but recent reports have brought Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz to the table instead.

The latest talk is that Chelsea are ready to go 'all in' to land the 20-year-old in a deal which could cost around the £75m mark.

Two words: Yes. Please.

There's an acceptance that bolstering the attack should be Chelsea's top priority this summer. They have struggled to convert chances and are soon set to lose Willian and Pedro, so Frank Lampard has been tasked with addressing that this summer.

Things have looked especially bleak out wide, where Chelsea would have been left with just Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic to turn to before they started getting busy in the not-yet-open transfer window.

Sure, landing Sancho - a traditional winger/inside forward - would fill the void left by Willian and Pedro (and it'd sure be nice to have a forward who you could actually rely on in the final third), but that's not the direction Lampard wants to take this team.

Having watched his Chelsea side this season, it's clear the boss likes to be tactically flexible. He's not scared of changing formations and personnel when required, and his transfer targets suggest that he wants players who share that philosophy.

Failed pursuits of Dries Mertens and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang show Chelsea were interested in strikers who can play out wide, or more generally, players who can play in more than one position. Ziyech fits the bill and so does Werner.

The 'problem' with Sancho is that he is really 'only' a winger, and while he might be one of the most exciting in his position in world football, he doesn't comply with Lampard's desire for players to be versatile. He's not playing as a striker and you won't see him in central midfield.

Do you know who does fit the mould? Havertz.

Primarily an attacking midfielder, Havertz can be seen popping up all over the field. He stars in the hole behind the striker, but is more than comfortable out wide and has even flashed an ability to dominate as an out-and-out striker.

Right off the mark, he fits in with Lampard's desire for players to drift around the pitch, find and exploit space and pull defenders out of position, and that's before you even consider that he's ludicrously talented at what he does.

A bona-fide star, Havertz knows how to score plenty of goals and he's capable of creating more than his fair share as well - two skills which Chelsea have struggled with this season.

His physical presence would work perfectly in the Premier League, but he then has the agility of a far smaller player to go alongside that. Havertz can throw his body around, before nutmegging a defender and drifting past another. Regardless of which battle he's up against, he's well-equipped for success.

Havertz fits Lampard's tactical style and is good enough to lead Chelsea to glory. If that doesn't sound like the Blues' ideal transfer target to you, then I don't know who could be.

£75m isn't cheap, Lord knows, but Chelsea do have the money to make this happen. Havertz could ensure Lampard's side return to the peak of the mountain in the near future, and you can't put a price on that.

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