New Chelsea signing, Kai Havertz has lauded his new teammate, Fikayo Tomoroi for granting him his jersey No 29.
Chelsea will open their Premier League campaign on Monday against Brighton and Hove Albion, having completed the signing of Havrtz and other several high-profile deals with the club which includes Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner.
The German midfielder, who recently came to the Stamford Bridge from Bayer Leverkusen singled out Tomori for praise. According to reports, Chelsea is planning to send the center-back out on loan to Everton. He is now down the pecking order after the arrival of Thiago Silva from PSG on a free transfer.
thank you @fikayotomori_ – 29 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/KeOPFTbTkJ
— Kai Havertz (@kaihavertz29) September 10, 2020
Havertz is Chelsea’s record signing when he agreed a £72million transfer from the Bundesliga club. Since breaking into the first-team at Leverkusen, the German international has worn the no.29 shirt, which he was keen to maintain at Stamford Bridge.
Since the number was already assigned to Tomori. the defender of Nigerian origin willingly granted Havertz his wish. As a show of appreciation, the German took to his social media pages to thank his teammate.
No discontent from Mason Mount over Kai Havertz signing
Meanwhile, Chelsea coach, Frank Lampard has said that a report that Mason Mount is unhappy over the signing of Kai Havertz is untrue. Mount, who had a successful debut season in the Premier League last season played 53 games for the Blues, which is more than any of the club players. He now faces increased competition for a place after the arrival of the German. Lampard, who said he hasn’t seen any signs of discontent over the big summer transfer, added that Mount is settled at the club.
Havertz: Mount’s father denies story concerning German midfielder
Mount’s father, Tony, had initially denied German reports describing him as unsettled. Lampard, therefore, reaffirmed his trust in Mount. According to him, the new signings were a signal to his players to raise their levels to stay in the team.
“I saw the story about Mason Mount and I know it was absolutely fabricated from someone, particularly if it came from the German end,” Lampard said at a Zoom press conference ahead of the new season. “I am not sure if he has any relatives out there or friends he can talk to, but it was a strange angle for that to have come from Mason.
“What I do know is with the young players who have got into the team, and the way football is at a club like Chelsea, if you are a young player who has a foot in and the club bring in a player who you hope raises levels, then the player should, and hopefully will raise their levels and everybody improves.
“I will be fair on how I pick the team. I won’t pick the team on whether you came from the academy, I will pick the team on how I think it should be picked every week, how they train, and how they have been performing.
“Everybody should be positive going into the season, training as well as they can, and then worry about the unity of the squad and how we go as a team.”
Havertz settling down at Chelsea
Havertz began training with the Blues immediately after completing his move last Friday.
Lampard further stated that Germany international will compete for lots of roles in the squad and is happy to play anywhere to help the team.
“Kai with his qualities is flexible to play in different positions, I haven’t changed my view in a few days of seeing him. “I think we can use his versatility. One of the pluses, when I spoke to Kai, is that he is very comfortable.
“He is not that ‘I want to play in this position; this is all I want’. He is potentially very happy to help the team; he can give us quality in different areas so it is not one that we have to nail down.”
Since Havertz is fit, he is set to make his Chelsea debut at Brighton & Hove Albion while creative midfielder, Christian Pulisic is also back in contention after recovering from a hamstring injury. The American will wear the number 10 jersey.
