German football's next talisman?
Germany has been one of the main producers of football talent throughout the years, having consistently challenged for international titles.
That however, ended last summer, when Germany failed to go through what was a relatively easy group in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, getting beat by Mexico and South Korea, whilst only scraping through a win against Sweden. This sparked a desire for a change in mentality and personnel, with several ageing stars being given less game-time than before, with younger, rising talents being brought up. This was highlighted by Joachim Low's shocking decision to announce that Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, and Thomas Muller will not be featuring for the national team anymore.
As a result, several young players will be hoping to grab this opportunity by the scruff of the neck and take advantage. One of such players is Bayer Leverkusen's talent, Kai Havertz.
Havertz made his debut way back in 2016/17, when he was still 17 years and 126 days old, becoming the club's youngest ever debutante. Remarkably, with his sublime and mature performances, he managed to earn the fans' Player of the Season at the end of his debut season. He was the star in a very poor Bayer Leverkusen team that eventually finished in a very disappointing 12th place in 2016/17.
However, he managed to continue on with his performances, cementing a place in the first-team even in 2017/18, when Leverkusen finished in a much more respectable 5th place.
His thrilling performances for Leverkusen eventually earned him a spot in the German national squad, and he made his international debut in 2018.
Havertz's incredible agility and dribbling has been his main asset throughout his very short career so far. However, he has also managed to produce plenty of output, with him playing 96 games in all competitions so far, scoring 21 goals and assisting 22 other goals. Considering his age, that is an incredible output, with him being an advanced playmaker.
He will be seen as a direct replacement to Thomas Muller in the German national team, yet he offers plenty of different qualities to the Bayern Munich veteran. Havertz is a much more reliable passer, being slicker in possession and racking up an impeccable pass success of 85.8% in the Bundesliga, compared to Muller's 74.3%.
Therefore, whilst the football world was shocked with the early retirement of several German football stars, the nation's football future is in safe hands, with teenagers like Havertz, Brandt and Werner, all making their mark in the Bundesliga and world football.
