The Truth: Is Kai Havertz Now an Elite Striker?

The Truth: Is Kai Havertz Now an Elite Striker?

It's time for The Truth!

Sam Tighe and Dougie Critchley discuss a topic that continues to divide fans across world football - whether Arsenal's leading man Kai Havertz is now an elite striker worthy of being included in the pantheon of the planet's best.

Havertz exploded onto the scene for Bayer Leverkusen in 2016, and by 2018 he was making waves at his boyhood club, becoming the youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances and establishing himself as a force in Peter Bosz's attack. By the time he moved to Chelsea in 2020, Havertz was one of the most in-demand young players in the world, but at Stamford Bridge things never felt quite right. Despite scoring the winning goal in the 2021 Champions League final, Havertz's positional versatility meant he felt like a square peg in a round hole in many ways.

So when Arsenal splashed out £65m for Havertz in the summer of 2023, eyebrows were raised, and after a difficult start to life in North London, many wrote Havertz off as a player who couldn't cut it at the top level. A year later, and with the German firmly established as Arsenal's first choice No. 9, the difference is astounding. Breaking records and brimming with confidence, it feels like a good time to ask whether Havertz is a stopgap to an out-and-out striker, or now in the right place to finally rise to the very top of the beautiful game.

The Truth is somewhere in the middle...

Hosts: Sam Tighe & Dougie Critchley
Production & Editing: Jack Collins
Studio Recording: Footwork Media

And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon?


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Avsnitt(446)

Champions League Takeaway: Sometimes the Football is Secondary

Champions League Takeaway: Sometimes the Football is Secondary

Hello gang,Sometimes the events in games are overshadowed by more insidious ones that dominate the headlines. This is one such occasion, and so it didn't feel particularly right to talk about the foot...

18 Feb 13min

The Truth: Are Set Pieces Hurting Football's Entertainment?

The Truth: Are Set Pieces Hurting Football's Entertainment?

It's time for The Truth!Sam and Dougie are back in the studio to look at the proliferation of set pieces across the entirety of the Premier League's clubs this season, and the impact that it is having...

13 Feb 52min

Ranking Underrated Premier League Players

Ranking Underrated Premier League Players

Hello Rank Squad! The Rank God is back in the building (literally in this case) and today Sam joins Jack to take a look at some of the most underrated players in the Premier League. That's a difficult...

11 Feb 1h 4min

The Truth: Answering Questions That Will Define This Season

The Truth: Answering Questions That Will Define This Season

It's time for The Truth!Sam and Dougie are back in town for 2026 and after an extended winter break that has included no little change in the footballing world, the boys are starting up again with an ...

6 Feb 52min

Ranking the January Transfer Window's Best & Weirdest Deals

Ranking the January Transfer Window's Best & Weirdest Deals

Hello Rank Squad!The January Transfer Window has finally come to a close and whilst it wasn't the most explosive window in recent years, it still threw up its fair share of interesting and intriguing ...

4 Feb 52min

Champions League Takeaway: Chaos in Spades in the League Finale

Champions League Takeaway: Chaos in Spades in the League Finale

Hello Rank Squad!It's time for your final Champions League Takeaway of the League Stage for 2025/26, with the 36 team battle culminating in a blitz of chaos and craziness, eliminations and ecstasy, in...

29 Jan 1h 5min

Champions League Takeaway: Examining PL Dominance, Liverpool's New Shape, Chelsea Relief, More Barça Chaos & Wednesday's Action

Champions League Takeaway: Examining PL Dominance, Liverpool's New Shape, Chelsea Relief, More Barça Chaos & Wednesday's Action

Hello Rank Squad!It's the belated second Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at the games from Wednesday night, as well as taking a step back to see what the League Table means after s...

23 Jan 50min

Champions League Takeaway: Arsenal Stay Perfect, Lightning Strikes City, Madrid Hit Six & Everything Else

Champions League Takeaway: Arsenal Stay Perfect, Lightning Strikes City, Madrid Hit Six & Everything Else

Hello Rank Squad!It's the first Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Tuesday's action from the seventh Matchday of the League stage. We start at San Siro, where Arsenal made it seven...

21 Jan 1h 12min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

svenska-fall
aftonbladet-krim
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
flashback-forever
blenda-2
rss-sanning-konsekvens
politiken
aftonbladet-daily
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-krimreportrarna
motiv
spar
grans
rss-frandfors-horna
rss-flodet
svd-ledarredaktionen
dagens-eko
olyckan-inifran
rss-aftonbladet-krim