Chelsea star Kai Havertz has again insisted he does not regret joining the club, making it clear he can happily write off a difficult first year given they won the Champions League.
The forward has been speaking to DAZN in Germany about his time in London so far and the perception it has been something of a disaster for him.
He joined Chelsea in a highly publicised moved from Bayer Leverkusen in an €80m move in September 2020 after establishing himself as one of the rising stars of world football at Leverkusen, where he scored 46 and assisted 31 in 150 games.
He has struggled to replicate that at Chelsea, with a tally of 32 goals and 15 assists in 131 games for the club far below what many were expecting from a player who had been so highly rated in Germany.
“The first few years were always uphill for me, I never had a headwind,” he said.
“Then I came here and thought: You’re coming to Chelsea, you’re the star player and you have to deliver, play well. Then you suddenly realise it’s not that easy. Of course, that kept me busy.
“That (his first year) was the most difficult time in my career. It was the corona phase, there were no spectators in the stadium to push you.
“On top of that, the Premier League has a different harshness and speed. New language, new culture, completely new life. It took a while and was a tough time.
“Of course, you always want everything as quickly as possible, then I scored the goal in the final and we won the Champions League. Then you realise: screw the first year, we won the Champions League.
“No matter what people said, I fulfilled my biggest dream. That’s why, no matter what happens in the next few years at Chelsea, I’ll always be grateful that I made the move. I couldn’t have imagined a better move.”
