Florent Malouda claims Kai Havertz Arsenal transfer proves Chelsea have a problem

Chelsea did well to recuperate the majority of the money they spent on the versatile forward when they acquired him from Bayer Leverkusen three years ago, but they might come to regret his departure should Mikel Arteta’s guidance allow him to reach his full potential.

The premature sales of Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah by the Blues in the past have left them with regret, and former Stamford Bridge player Malouda worries that Havertz’s exit will hurt Mauricio Pochettino.

‘I think that the people that are associated to Chelsea need to look in the mirror because we’ve seen his kind of thing happen repeatedly at the club over the last few seasons, it is almost like a pattern,’ Malouda told Genting Casino.

‘Chelsea can always attract the best talent in the world at an early age and sometimes we fail to give these players a proper development plan.

‘Havertz is not in his prime yet. He won the Champions League and is a big player in the German national team, so you can’t question his quality, but there has been a frustration with his performances at Chelsea.

‘The bigger picture is that he is not the only player to have suffered or performed inconsistently at Chelsea and his form mirrors that of the club.

‘Whenever a player leaves, you always wish them well, but his departure underlines why Chelsea need to fix the problems they have when it comes to developing players.

‘We’ve seen some brilliant players that were there go to other clubs and shine, the prime examples being Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah.

‘De Bruyne has just won the treble. I wish he was at Chelsea to win the treble, but if you asked him if he wanted to go back, he would say no.

‘That is something that needs to be resolved. Chelsea is an attractive club, but players have flourished when they’ve left for lots of different reasons. This is a problem that needs to be fixed.’