Jay we heard from half the squad plus the manager about the importance of Gyokeres and how he occupies defenders which gives space to others. We have also seen the mad dog chasing and harassing of players he does. So there is no way you can say Havertz scores higher than Gyok for that. also, Gyok makes run after run after run but never gets the ball, his movement is excellent but we don't play - or rather have not been playing - head up football. Havertz is absolutely not better than Gyok at making runs, at the forward press and drawing defenders. Havertz makes "different" runs to Gyok and notice I didn't say Gyok makes better runs - their runs compliment their game style, I have no problem with the runs Havertz makes.
I think the club latched onto social media nonsense to support a player who was struggling to score goals. I get that and support it. I think it's good for the player. Gyokeres's job is to improve the teams scoring. I think he can do it - there are signs. Havertz is one of the elite at the forward press. He has had that strength for years. Tackles won in final third, Havertz 0.34 per 90 in 24/25, vs 0.11 for Gyokeres in 25/26. (source FBRef) I think Havertz numbers might be the best in the PL. As an aside Havertz came in 2nd across ALL players in the PL (not just strikers) for work rate and competitiveness on the pitch, behind only Bruno Guimaraes in this analysis in 2025... https://www.givemesport.com/hardest-working-players-premier-league-right-now/
