Sunday Express

SOON HAVE THE PREMIER STAGE

- By Harry Pratt

afternoon. Certainly, the significan­ce of such a monster showdown this early in the season is not lost on the Blues playmaker. And the same goes for the feats of Jurgen Klopp in the Anfield hotseat.

Ending the Reds’ 30-year title drought has further enhanced the German coach’s already high standing in his homeland.

Havertz, who has seven caps for his country, said: “Klopp is a very, very big manager. He has achieved a lot at Liverpool.

“He won the Premier League and the Champions League. I have watched all of this and you can only say, ‘Congratula­tions’.

“But I think he’s hungry and wants more titles, and that’s the reason why we have to play our best on Sunday.

“It will be a very hard game for us but for them as well because we have a very good team.”

Havertz smashed Bundesliga records galore during his rapid rise up the Leverkusen ranks.

He rattled in 36

DONKEY DAYS: Havertz is an animal welfare fan goals in 118 league games for the club.

But unlike the many young German starlets who join Bayern Munich, Havertz bucked the trend by choosing Stamford Bridge – along with compatriot Timo Werner.

“Of course it’s a very big step but I like to do things that not everybody will do,” said Havertz. “It’s very exciting to be in another league and to be learning another culture.

“The career is not that long, maybe 10 to15 years, and I have this new goal.

“In the end, Chelsea give me everything. It’s a big project and I love to play alongside young players. “Maybe it needs a few games for me to play some good football but I’ve only been here for seven days.” If things do not click immediatel­y, Havertz can console himself with another of his non-footballin­g hobbies – the piano.

“My grandma always had a piano and I was playing from three years old,” he added. “It’s fun and makes me feel comfortabl­e.”

And there’s no doubt that Havertz won’t be playing the Blues for too long.

 ??  ?? TREND SETTER: Havertz opted not to follow many young German stars to Bayern Munich
TREND SETTER: Havertz opted not to follow many young German stars to Bayern Munich

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