Timo Werner has admitted to “struggling” in recent weeks at Chelsea, having underestimated the challenge of the Premier League.
Star striker Werner has now gone eight games without a goal in all competitions for Chelsea, having missed several golden opportunities in that drought.
The 24-year-old has revealed that the gruelling schedule of a game every three days has started to take its toll, as the summer arrival from RB Leipzig continues to meet his Stamford Bridge test.
“The Premier League is a little bit different to my old league that I used to play in,” said Werner.
“I have to say it’s tougher than I thought. The contact here is harder than in Germany; it’s what I expected but not like this.
“I think it’s also hard when you play every three days and the Champions League and internationals and you have to play on Saturday against teams that can rest the whole week and think only about the game against you.
“It makes it not easy to be the best in every game but the Premier League is very fun to play in.
“The beginning was very good, now after a lot of games I don’t know if its normal but I’m struggling a little bit.
“There are lot of games at the moment and I think there’s some chances that I’ve missed two or three weeks ago that were not the best thing, but I think – when you are new to a country and league – it’s always a little bit hard to adapt and it should be no excuse.
“I should try to do my best to be the best footballer that I can be in this league and I think I’ll adapt well.”
Chelsea host West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, bidding to return to winning ways in the Premier League following successive losses.
Werner arrived in west London in the summer to much fanfare, having commanded a £53million transfer fee.
The candid Germany striker has admitted the size of the fee does carry weight – but he also insisted he could handle the pressure at his new club.
'Some of the greatest players the Premier League has seen have taken time to succeed..' 👊— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 19, 2020
“It does matter how much you cost,” Werner told Chelsea’s official club website.
“It’s always a bit of pressure when you come to a new club and you want to score on your own but now you also want to score for your new team-mates, for your club.
“You have to score and (it is) the pressure you have in every new club, but I think I can handle it very well because I got the same pressure at my old club and everybody wanted me to score.
“It’s not something new to me but now it’s a new ground from where I’ve been so its new people and new players around me.
“So the pressure is a little bit higher than the last years but I think good footballers are the best under pressure and that’s my plan, I can do very well under pressure.”
