Pundit Gabby Agbonlahor accused Kai Havertz of sacking two Chelsea managers and doing little to help a third.
Chelsea’s current boss, Graham Potter, is under increasing pressure after a slump that has seen his team win just two of their previous 15 Premier League games, scoring only the one goal in their last six games in all competitions.
Amid claims that the body language of Chelsea players was becoming increasingly worrying after their latest defeat, at Tottenham on Sunday, Agbonlahor shifted much of the blame to the Germany international.
“Look at (Kai) Havertz, he fired two managers, he’s not doing anything,” he said. “He is not a number nine or ten, he does not hold the ball or score goals.”
Havertz has had a mixed time in a Chelsea jersey. Having scored just 29 goals since he joined in 2020, accusations have been leveled against the player that he simply doesn’t fit into a modern team. He is the club’s joint top scorer this season with six goals, alongside Raheem Sterling.
Gabby Agbonlahor accused Kai Havertz of sacking two previous Chelsea managers
The German has endured a difficult season under Graham Potter with Chelsea’s attack reeling
Gabby Agbonlahor said Chelsea players should stop looking to blame the manager
By contrast, Havertz scored the winning goals in both the 2021 Champions League final over Manchester City and the subsequent Club World Cup final win over Palmeiras.
He previously played with Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel for the Blues.
Agbonlahor’s criticism of Chelsea players was not reserved for Havertz, with the former Aston Villa striker also pointing fingers at the likes of Enzo Fernández and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, urging the team to do more to help the stricken Potter.
“The big concern for me when I watched Chelsea, and especially against Spurs at the weekend, was the body language of some of the players,” he said.
“Even Enzo Fernandez, he’s been outstanding for Chelsea, but even he seemed a bit fed up with his teammates and the lack of connection between them.”
“(Raheem) Sterling is running and nobody can find him, the players are trying to play one-two and they are not used to playing each other,” he added.
“(Ruben) Loftus-Cheek hasn’t played for years, so some of these guys need to stick their finger out and put in some performances, and not just blame the coach for everything.”
Agbonlahor went on to suggest that the Chelsea owners should give the manager more time, arguing that he deserves a full pre-season to work with an established group of players.
“I think he (Graham Potter) is under pressure, but we don’t know what the owner wants. Give him until the end of the season, he has a good preseason and he gets rid of the dead wood, the players aren’t good enough, then he can work with the players in the preseason.
Then after ten games into the season, if Chelsea aren’t fighting for the title, then you get rid of them. These players have a lack of trust and chemistry with each other.”
Sportsmail reported on Monday that Potter was increasingly concerned that his training sessions would be undermined by having too many players to work with.
Chelsea have been accused of having an inflated player pool following a huge outlay in January that saw them spend more than £300m on eight new first-team players.
Graham Potter is under increasing pressure after a poor run for Chelsea
Agbonlahor pointed out the players’ body language on Sunday and urged them to improve their ideas.
Chelsea have scored just once in their last six games in all competitions.
Known for working to rigorous play patterns, Potter has been forced into the unenviable position of trying to keep everyone involved.
“There are challenges when you have so many players,” Potter said earlier this month. ‘There are challenges in terms of what role they play because most players want to play. They want to play, be on the field and help the team. When they are not, it is a challenge for many reasons at this club.
‘When you go through a transition period and the steps that we’ve gone through, there will be periods where it’s going to be more difficult than you ideally want, it’s not optimal.
I don’t complain and I have to do everything possible to support and manage the club. Step by step I want to put the team in a better place than when I arrived.’