Premier League scouts have had good reason to look a little closer at the Bundesliga recently. In Kai Havertz and Jadon Sancho, the German top flight is currently home to two of the best young talents in the game, with both the subject of much transfer speculation in recent weeks.
Indeed, Havertz has been linked with nearly every elite European club going, with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid all at one point or another targeting the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder. Meanwhile, Sancho seems destined for Old Trafford. United have made the England international their top target according to countless reports, with their chase of Sancho already something of a summer saga.
But which of the two has the higher ceiling? The pair have caught the eye in the Bundesliga over the past two seasons, attracting the sort of attention that will surely see them make a mega-money move sooner rather than later, but who will justify their transfer fee more? Who is the true Bundesliga wonderkid?
In terms of goals scored over the last two seasons, Sancho has the edge on Havertz, with the Dortmund winger scoring 29 times compared to Havertz’s tally of 20. And the Englishman certainly holds the advantage when it comes to assists, piling high an astonishing 30 assists in 65 Bundesliga outings. Havertz only has nine in 63 games.
This is perhaps down to the areas the two players tend to occupy on the pitch. While Havertz can play out wide, he is a central operator, playing either as an attacking midfielder, as a secondary striker or sometimes even as a centre forward on his own - this is a role he has played recently due to the injury to Kevin Volland.
Wingers, by their nature, are more likely to tally assists, but by the same token centrally positioned players tend to score more. This is why Sancho’s numbers are so impressive. For someone who is primarily deployed on the left, or more commonly on the right, his instinct in front of goal is befitting of a centre forward.
Of course, this follows a trend we are seeing across the game right now. Wingers are no longer expected purely to provide a threat down the wings. Look at Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah at Liverpool, or the role Cristiano Ronaldo perfected over a number of years at Real Madrid. They may start out wide, but their game is about getting into goalscoring positions.
For all that Sancho might be a greater threat right now, there is a sense that Havertz could surpass the England international. Comparisons with Zinedine Zidane have been drawn. There is indeed an air of the French legend about the way Havertz plays the game, and the way it seems to defy logic that someone so physically imposing, standing at 6ft 2”, could be so naturally adept with the ball at their feet.
Just like Sancho, Havertz also appears built for the modern game. Centre forwards are now expected to do more than just find the back of the net. To use Liverpool as an example again, Roberto Firmino has become the greatest illustration of this and Havertz is capable of playing in the same way as the Brazilian, but maybe even with a greater goal threat.
They may play different positions, they might play the game in a different way, but Havertz and Sancho’s greatest selling point is the same - goals, assists and productivity in the final third of the pitch. Havertz has averaged two shots on goal in the Bundesliga this season (as per WhoScored), compared to Sancho’s average of 1.7 shots per game. Sancho’s average of 2.5 dribbles per game is higher than Havertz’s average of two per game, while the two are almost identical in terms of key passes (Sancho, 2.2 per game and Havertz, two per game).
These are two players who have the world at their feet. Both 20 years old, both Bundesliga stars and both wanted by the great and good of world football, Havertz and Sancho are destined to reach the top, if they aren’t already there. Judging who will go higher, though, might come down to personal hunch.
