Graham Potter announces Chelsea’s new penalty taker after Jorginho transfer to Arsenal
Graham Potter has announced that Kai Havertz will now be Chelsea’s preferred penalty taker, after Jorginho moved to Arsenal in January.
Jorginho had an impressive penalty conversion rate of 93% during his time at Chelsea, where he scored 27 out of 31 penalties using his unique hop-and-shoot technique.
However, since joining Arsenal, Jorginho has yet to take a penalty, with Bukayo Saka being the current first-choice taker.
With Jorginho’s departure, Potter needed to find a new reliable penalty taker for Chelsea and has chosen Havertz, who will be the go-to man for penalties in their upcoming Champions League last-16 second leg match against Borussia Dortmund.
“The players are always practising penalties,” Potter said. “We are prepared for the eventuality and possibility [of a penalty shootout]. We want to win it before that but if not, then we will be prepared to go through in that way. Kai is our penalty taker in the absence of Jorginho.”
In the first leg of the Champions League last-16 match against Borussia Dortmund in February, Chelsea suffered a 1-0 defeat at Westfalenstadion, putting their chances of making it to the quarter-finals in jeopardy.
The removal of the away goals rule by UEFA last season has made it more probable that extra time and penalty shootouts will be used to determine the outcome of European matches.
Kai Havertz has only taken one penalty for Chelsea, which he scored in extra time to secure a victory against Palmeiras in the Club World Cup final last year. Despite his hefty transfer fee and numerous appearances for the club, Havertz has not been particularly prolific, having scored 29 goals in 125 matches across all competitions.
However, he did score the crucial goal in the Champions League final against Manchester City during his first season at the club. Despite his mixed performances, Graham Potter has endorsed the 23-year-old German international as Chelsea’s new penalty taker for their upcoming match against Borussia Dortmund.
“I think we have to attack better as a team and that’s my responsibility,” Potter said in response to criticism of Havertz. “It’s too easy to zoom into individuals and blame them. It’s a collective, we have to create more, do better, and that starts with me, helping the team get better chances more chances because then I don’t doubt the quality of the players.”
Turning his attention to Havertz’s attacking colleague Raheem Sterling, the English manager said: “His goalscoring record in the Champions League [26 goals in 79 appearances] speaks for itself. He’s an experienced, proven campaigner in that competition.
“So, we’re delighted with that and we’re looking forward to him on the pitch on Tuesday, and hopefully enjoying his football and, and contributing to us winning and going through. You can see his quality that he brings and if he’s enjoying his football, he’s a really important player for us and the last two home games [a 1-0 victory over Leeds and a 1-0 defeat by Southampton ], you could see that.”
Graham Potter announces Chelsea’s new penalty taker after Jorginho transfer to Arsenal
