"Nobody is undroppable, but if he plays like this, he stepped up in his mentality in his game." Those are the words of Thomas Tuchel from last month, with the Chelsea boss heaping praise on the brilliant Kai Havertz, who has been exceptional in recent outings for the west Londoners.
The 22-year-old, who signed for the Blues in the summer of 2020 for around £71million, is perhaps showing his best form so far in a Chelsea shirt since the move, with five goals in as many matches in all competitions. Havertz has been used in the 'false nine' position under Tuchel and he has flourished when doing so.
So much so, that Romelu Lukaku's future at Chelsea looks more uncertain with every match he starts on the bench. The 28-year-old re-signed for the Blues at the start of the season for close to £100m, but he has not started a Premier League match in almost a month.
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Havertz has been used from the start in the last three matches in all competitions, with the German playing his third game in eight days on Sunday - where he bagged a superb winner against Newcastle United. This is why it would not come as a surprise at all if Tuchel opted with Lukaku instead of Havertz on Wednesday against Lille in the UEFA Champions League, especially considering Chelsea boast a 2-0 lead going into the second-leg in France.
Timo Werner has started for the Blues in their last two Premier League outings against Norwich and Newcastle and the German has failed to impress once again. Everything points towards Lukaku leading the line on Wednesday - and if he does, then he has the chance to start proving Jamie Carragher wrong.
When speaking on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football, the former Liverpool defender predicted that Lukaku could leave the club at the end of the season because of Havertz being the first-choice striker at the club. Carragher said: "It feels to me like this is the first time Kai Havertz has actually had a real role in this team and hasn't felt like he's almost taking somebody's place.
"But I do think there are big questions, still around Havertz, but also Lukaku. If this situation continues with Havertz as the main striker, I don't think you see Lukaku at Chelsea next season.
"I think he'd have to move on. I do not think he is a guy you could have on the bench and use him sporadically, I think he would be moving on.
"But if this is Havertz's chance in terms of being that central striker and playing every week, I almost feel from now until the end of the season, he's got to continue the form he is in right now. Otherwise Chelsea may go out and do what they did in the summer and go and buy another Lukaku or another attacking player."
Lukaku needs a huge confidence boost - with that, there is no doubt at all. We saw during the early stages of this season what a threat he can be for Chelsea and he needs to rekindle that level of form in order to once again overtake Havertz in the pecking order and prove he still has a future in the Premier League.
