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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Kai Havertz opens up on "difficult" start at Chelsea in "exhausting" Premier League

Kai Havertz has lifted the lid on his "difficult" start to life at Chelsea after his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen this summer.

The Germany star was one of the most-sought after talents in Europe and joined the Blues for a fee of £72million in one of the standout deals of the window.

Havertz has struggled to replicate the form which lit up the Bundesliga in his opening Premier League appearances, failing to score in four games and registering just one assist.

But the 21-year-old struck a hat-trick against Barnsley in the Carabao Cup and is confident his form will pick up after a challenging opening month at Stamford Bridge.

“It was difficult for me, especially because the Premier League is a completely different league,” Havertz told Chelsea’s official website. “It's more intense and I noticed that in the first few games.

“It has gone pretty well for me recently but I think there is also still a lot of potential upwards. I want to exploit that in the next few weeks and months.

Havertz joined Chelsea in one of the summer's standout transfers (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

“The hat-trick was good for me. The start was a little difficult because I only trained with the team for five or six days, then played the first game right away.

"It was also a very big step for me to leave my family and familiar surroundings. Of course, it takes time to get it right.”

Havertz, who scored 36 Bundesliga goals, also explained how the Premier League is different from the German top flight.

How many Premier League goals will Havertz score for Chelsea this season? Have your say here.

The 21-year-old scored a hat-trick against Championship side Barnsley last month (Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

He added: “The intensity in the duels and the runs is much higher,” he said. “It's a completely different league and the games are very exhausting.

“The Bundesliga isn't worse but I noticed differences. It seems to me like there aren't any average or bad players here - everybody is at a very high level.”

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