Kai Havertz has admitted to feeling the pressure at the start of his Chelsea career, claiming that supporters expected him to be "the new Cristiano Ronaldo".
Chelsea invested £70 million ($99m) in Havertz's talents last summer, having seen him emerge as one of the top young players of his generation at Bayer Leverkusen.
The 22-year-old struggled to build on that reputation in his first few months at Stamford Bridge, and has now opened up on his frustrations while away with the Germany national team at the European Championship.
What's been said?
"People expect you to be the new Cristiano Ronaldo," Havertz told Suddeutsche Zeitung . "But it won't be that fast, everything is new and I really didn't play my best football at the beginning.
"I felt a completely different pressure than before in Leverkusen."
Havertz on firing Chelsea to European glory
Havertz gradually began to show his best form at Chelsea following the appointment of fellow countryman Thomas Tuchel as the club's new manager in January, and was trusted to start in their all-English Champions League final clash with Manchester City last month.
The attacker rewarded his manager's faith by scoring the winning goal at Estadio Do Dragao, which he sees as a crucial moment in his overall development as a player.
"I'm glad that I was able to end the season with this goal in the Champions League final," Havertz added.
"The goal was important for the history of the club, but it was important to me to have also done very well personally."
Havertz aiming for more success at Euro 2020
Havertz earned a place in Joachim Low's Germany squad for the Euros after proving himself at Chelsea towards the end of the 2020-21 campaign, and is currently preparing with the rest of the squad for their Group F opener against world champions France.
The former Leverkusen star says winning the Champions League has given him extra confidence for the tournament, but concedes it won't mean as much if Germany fail to challenge for silverware on the international stage.
"We're with the national team, we have different processes and different goals here," said Havertz. "Of course, this title gives me tailwind and a lot of self-confidence, but there's no point in feeling like a Champions League winner if you screw up the European Championship afterwards."