Kai Havertz On $56M Star’s Immediate Impact: He’s 'Definitely Going To Help Us'

Chelsea striker Kai Havertz has heaped praises on new teammate Raheem Sterling, saying the Englishman is "definitely going to help us."

Sterling, who was Thomas Tuchel’s top priority going into the 2022 summer window, moved from Manchester City to Chelsea on a five-year contract with an option to further extend by another 12 months.

The Blues paid $56 million for Sterling, who is currently with the Chelsea side on their pre-season tour in the United States.

The 27-year-old Sterling scored 131 goals and provided 95 assists in 339 competitive appearances for Pep Guardiola's side and played a key role in them winning many trophies over the years, including three league titles.

"You can see his [Sterling] quality here already and it’s been just a few days. You can see in training how good he is, how fast he is. He is definitely going to help us. We all know he is a great player. I saw a stat about him that he has had the most goals and assists for Man City in the last five years, something like that. It tells the whole story of him," Havertz told Chelsea’s media.

"He was a great player for City and the national team as well. Hopefully, he can keep up his level here. For me and for everyone, he is going to help," added Havertz, who has been at Chelsea since 2020.

Havertz, who will always be remembered for his win against Manchester City that won Chelsea their second Champions League title, scored 14 goals and provided six assists in 47 competitive appearances for the Blues last season.

He was Chelsea’s second-leading goal-scorer after Romelu Lukaku, who scored just one more than his younger teammate.

When Havertz arrived at Stamford Bridge from Bayern Leverkusen, he was an attacking midfielder and took time to adapt to the striker’s role. With Lukaku off to Inter Milan on loan, it is a fine chance for Havertz to establish himself as Chelsea’s No. 1 striker.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel recently confirmed that his top priority is not looking for a striker, which implied Havertz was going to retain the role for the Blues for the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.

"It is always good for a striker and for me as well [to know that]. I’m still young. I need to get that confidence from the coach. I need his trust, sometimes in the bad times, too. He has always given me that trust in the last couple of years. In every match, I want to repay the trust. You always feel the responsibility when you play. Hopefully, it is going to be a better year than last year," Havertz said in an interview, 90Min reported.