Chelsea boss Lampard: No Havertz complaints; just give him time | OneFootball

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard insists he has no doubts about the drive and motivation of Kai Havertz.

Havertz was a high profile arrival from Bayer Leverkusen in a deal worth £89million but has since struggled to make an impact on the Blues midfield with just one goal and three assists from his 16 top flight appearances.

"I can officially say from working with Kai that desire is absolutely not part of the issue. Is he as confident right now, at this minute, as he can be or will be? No, because he is having a tough moment, as are other members of the squad," he said when questioned on the midfielder's work rate.

"Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah are players who were here at a similar age to Kai. They went away and took time and came back, and now they are absolute Premier League legends.

"I don't want to build Kai up and put that pressure on his shoulders, but there clearly has to be a time with young players who come to this league, where people have to give them time, patience and sometimes a little bit of wriggle room.

"It's not that everything will just happen in a few months or in one performance.

"He has a style that maybe when things aren't coming off, people want to jump on. I've seen players like that over the years, some amazingly talented players. But, let me tell you, his desire, the ground he covers in games is big, the data and the stats are big, and he needs time because we've seen this story so many times with players.

"I know him well, he's a good lad and my job is to coach him like I coach the young players that came through last year in this team and made real names for themselves, to keep improving him.

"And now is the time to give him confidence and show my support for him and he's got my absolute support."