Thomas Tuchel has challenged Kai Havertz to reach the peak of his ability, even when he faces adverse situations, as he believes that the German midfielder has endless potential in him that needs to be unlocked.

The 21-year-old was a big-money signing in the summer transfer window as he came from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of £75m. He got his first goal in England pretty quickly but he was struck down by coronavirus soon and he hasn’t been able to gain his form back ever since.

Tuchel, who was appointed as the manager at Stamford Bridge after Frank Lampard’s sacking, said that it is not easy for a youngster like him to switch from Germany to England, where the level of football is not only different but the culture and environment is quite different too. He says that they need to be patient with him but at the same time need to push him hard.

“His potential is endless, almost endless. It is a challenge for him, and I think he made a very brave choice, you have to understand,” Tuchel said.

“I am a huge fan of Bayer Leverkusen in terms of how they have developed as a club over years and years and what players they developed and what quality of football they play.

“But, you come from Leverkusen to Chelsea, the culture can not be any more different. A club where it is OK to maybe be second or third best, to reach the top four and repeat for this on a very high level.

“Then you go to a club where they talk about trophies and winning titles, it is so open, there is a certain atmosphere like at Bayern Munich they do this every year, they demand titles, titles and more titles and it does something to a club in the atmosphere.

“So that means that Kai has stopped not just to a different country, not only to a different club, not only different teammates, itself is already complicated, he even changes his culture and club environment in a dramatic way.

“And I love it because he is so far out of his comfort zone.”