Nkunku and Havertz are among the best young attacking midfielders in world football today. Both have been very impressive playing in the German Bundesliga. Nkunku is just arriving in the Premier League and is set to make his debut for Chelsea.
Kai Havertz spent two seasons with Chelsea before being signed by Arsenal for the upcoming season. He won the Champions League with Chelsea and scored the only goal in their 1-0 victory over Manchester City in the final.
With Nkunku now joining Chelsea, can he fill the role of Havertz or even surpass him? It remains to be seen if he can perform in the physically demanding Premier League.
In this article, we will compare the stats between Nkunku and Havertz to evaluate who is the better player. The upcoming season will demonstrate if Nkunku can match or exceed Havertz’s success in England.
2022/2023 Season Comparison
Let’s examine the performances of both Nkunku and Havertz during the 2022/2023 season and compare their statistics.
Nkunku vs Havertz Stats
Nkunku and Havertz Stats Comparison Breakdown
Based on the stats from the picture above:
- Nkunku’s progressive carries, which means how often a player moves the ball forward significantly, are better than 23.8% of players. Havertz’s progressive carries are better than 20.2% of players.
- Nkunku has a successful dribble rate better than 41.9% of players. Havertz has a successful dribble rate better than 16.8% of players.
- Nkunku’s non-penalty goals rate is higher than 99.2% of players, while Havertz’s non-penalty goals rate is higher than 74.8% of players.
- Nkunku’s expected goals and assists rate is higher than 99.5% of players. Havertz’s expected goals and assists rate is higher than 83.3% of players.
- Nkunku’s assists rate is better than 70.3% of players. Havertz’s assists rate is better than 0.1% of players.
- Nkunku’s performance in creating key passes which lead to goal-scoring opportunities is better than about 78.6% of players per 90 minutes. Havertz’s performance in creating key passes which lead to goal-scoring opportunities is better than about 40.9% of players per 90 minutes.
- Nkunku is more involved in offensive actions than 50.5% of players. Havertz is more involved in offensive actions than 18.0% of players.
Goals, Assists, and Other Comparison
| Nkunku | Havertz | |
| Matches | 42 | 55 |
| Goals | 23 | 14 |
| Assists | 8 | 2 |
| Minutes Played | 2951 | 3842 |
| Completed Passes | 82% | 83% |
| Shots Per Goal | 3.44 | 10.00 |
| Minutes Per Goal | 119 | 368 |
| Minutes Per Assist | 474 | 2579 |
Based on the stats from the table above:
- Nkunku has an 82% pass completion rate. Havertz has an 83% pass completion rate.
- Nkunku needs around 3 shots to score a goal. Havertz needs around 10 shots to score a goal.
- Nkunku takes around 119 minutes to score a goal. Havertz takes around 368 minutes to score a goal.
- Nkunku takes around 474 minutes to make an assist. Havertz takes around 2579 minutes to make an assist.
Based on their statistics from the most recent season, Nkunku appears to be a far better player than Havertz. Nkunku’s offensive contributions are much higher in comparison. He has a superior goal ratio, more assists, and greater involvement in his team’s attacking plays than Havertz. The statistics show Nkunku to be more productive on offense and contributing more to his team’s success in that phase of the game.
Nkunku and Havertz Statistical Comparison (All Seasons)
| Nkunku | Havertz | |
| Career Starts | 153 | 228 |
| Starts as Sub | 118 | 93 |
| Came on | 66 | 61 |
| Taken Off | 69 | 90 |
| Minutes Played | 13957 | 20115 |
| Career Goals | 70 | 83 |
| Career Assists | 44 | 40 |
Looking at Nkunku and Havertz’s career statistics, Nkunku still appears to be the better player overall. While Havertz has more total goals and assists, the difference is only 13 goals and 4 assists, even though he has played 75 more matches and 6,158 more minutes than Nkunku so far in their careers.
Given Nkunku’s current scoring rate, there is a very high probability that he could surpass Havertz’s career totals in both goals and assists once he reaches a similar number of minutes played and matches.
The relatively small gap in their career totals to this point, despite Nkunku’s far fewer minutes on the pitch, indicates his superior offensive productivity and ability to generate goals and assists at a higher rate than Havertz.
Final Opinion
Both Nkunku and Havertz are talented players, but Nkunku is currently outperforming Havertz. Despite suffering a long injury last season, Nkunku still managed to win the top scorer award in Bundesliga.
We cannot deny that Havertz performed very well during his time at Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga before moving to Chelsea. Perhaps his level of play has slowed down due to the high competitiveness of the Premier League.
However, with Nkunku now also in the Premier League, it will be interesting to see how both players perform in the coming season.
