Gary Lineker has now been confessing his admiration for a change Arsenal’s Kai Havertz has made with Germany at Euro 2024.
Coming off the back of an excellent debut season at Arsenal, Havertz looked set to star at his home-hosted tournament, and he’s done exactly that.
The forward scored and assisted in a rout against Scotland in the opening round and despite being slightly frustrated against Hungary, he was still effective in his running.
It’s clear that Havertz will be key to any success Germany enjoy at Euro 2024, and his rotation with Niclas Fullkrug, a more traditional type of finisher, is working incredibly well.
That being said, when speaking on ‘The Rest Is Football’ podcast, Gary Lineker has noticed an impressive change Havertz has made under Julian Nagelsmann.
This season Havertz has made his name at Arsenal playing as a false nine, a central figure willing to come deep and connect play.
However, Lineker said he could now see traits of a proper number nine, another facet to the £60m-forward’s game.
Gary Lineker says Kai Havertz has finally found his best position with Germany
Speaking on the podcast, Lineker admitted that Havertz will never be prolific, but seems to have found his best role.
He explained: “The thing I have been impressed with, and I know he’s not scored much lately, I don’t think he is ever going to be prolific.
“But Havertz, I think he has turned himself from a false nine into a nine. Nagelsmann has played him and told him to play high. I think that’s what we need to do with Harry Kane.
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“But I think Havertz is impressive as a nine, he will run in behind, which is really important. He can also hold it up, he has a really good touch, and I think we have found his position.
“For years we have been saying we are not sure what he is, is he a 10 or an eight? I think he’s a nine.”
Of course, given Arsenal failed in their pursuit of Benjamin Sesko, someone considered a ‘proper number nine’, Havertz’s versatility will continue to be very important.
Gabriel Jesus is not the perfect partner for Kai Havertz
As mentioned, Havertz’s role dovetailing with Fullkrug for Germany is working very well, two strikers offering differing skill sets.
And perhaps that best delineates the kind of signing Mikel Arteta needs this summer, with Gabriel Jesus being almost too similar to Havertz.
Neither Jesus or Havertz are natural finishers, and Arsenal do need a striker in their squad who can do so.
Otherwise they will have to rely on the goals of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka once again, who are very capable, but it’s a hard task to win the Premier League without a 15 or 20 goal striker.
All that being said, Gabriel Martinelli has just shared his honest thoughts on Arsenal signing a new striker this summer.