Gabby Agbonlahor accuses Kai Havertz of ‘seeing off two Chelsea managers’

Kai Havertz has been accused of seeing off two Chelsea managers and doing little to help a third by pundit Gabby Agbonlahor.

Current Chelsea boss Graham Potter is under increasing pressure after a dire run that has seen his side win just two of their previous 15 Premier League games, with the having scored just the solitary goal in their last six games in all competitions. 

Amid claims that the Chelsea players’ body language was becoming increasingly concerning after their latest defeat, at Tottenham on Sunday, Agbonlahor pointed a large portion of the blame at the door of the Germany international.

‘Look at [Kai] Havertz, he saw two managers off, he is not doing anything,’ he said. ‘He is not a number nine or ten, he is not holding the ball up, or even scoring goals.’

Havertz has experienced something of a mixed time in a Chelsea shirt. Having scored only 29 goals since joining in 2020, accusations have been levelled at the player that he just does not fit into a modern team. He is the club’s joint-top scorer this term with six goals, alongside Raheem Sterling.

Conversely, Havertz’s scored the winning goals in both the 2021 Champions League  final over Manchester City and the following Club World Cup final victory over Palmeiras.

He previously played under Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel for the Blues. 

Agbonlahor’s criticism for the Chelsea players was not reserved for Havertz, with the former Aston Villa forward also pointing the finger at the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, urging the squad to do more to aid the stricken Potter.

‘The big worry for me when I watch Chelsea, and especially against Spurs at the weekend, was the body language of some of the players,’ he said.

‘Even Enzo Fernandez, he has been outstanding for Chelsea, but even he looked a bit fed up with his teammates and the lack of connection to between them.’

‘[Raheem] Sterling is making runs and nobody is finding him, players are trying to play one-twos and they are not used to playing with each other,’ he added.

‘[Ruben] Loftus-Cheek has not performed for ages, so some of these players need to get their finger out, and putting in some performances, and not just blame the manager for everything.’ 

Agbonlahor went on to suggest that Chelsea’s owners should give the manager more time, arguing he deserves a full pre-season to work with a settled group of players.

‘I think he [Graham Potter] is under pressure, but we do not know what the owner wants. Give him until the end of the season, he gets a good pre-season, and gets rid of the deadwood, the players not good enough, then he can work with the players in pre-season.

‘Then after ten games in the season, if Chelsea are not up there fighting for the title, then you get rid of him. These players have a lack of confidence and chemistry between them.’

Sportsmail reported on Monday that Potter was becoming increasingly concerned his training sessions were being undermined by having too many players to work with. 

Chelsea have been accused of having a bloated group of players following an extensive January outlay that saw them spend north of £300m on eight new first team players.

Known for working on rigorous patterns of play, Potter has been forced into the unenviable position of trying to keep all involved.   

‘There are challenges when you’ve got that 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 pitch and help the team. When they are not, it is a challenge for lots of reasons at this club.

‘When you go through a period of transition and the steps we’ve gone through then there are going to be periods when it is going to be tougher than you ideally want – it’s not optimal.

‘I am not complaining about it and I have to do my best to support and manage the club. Step by step I want to put the team in a better place than when I arrived.’