Despite becoming a club icon with his strike against Manchester City in May, the Germany international continues to struggle for consistency

After his Champions League-winning goal against Manchester City in May, Kai Havertz was supposed to turn into a Chelsea superstar.

Unfortunately, fans are still waiting for that transformation to happen.

Havertz's strike in Porto instantly became one of the most important in Chelsea's history – but it felt like a pivotal moment in his young career, too.

When the Germany international was asked about previously having struggled to justify his £70 million ($97m) transfer fee amid the post-match celebrations, he enthused, "I don't give a f*ck about that! I just won the Champions League!"

This summer, though, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel challenged the 22-year-old to forget about the importance of his goal in Portugal, and instead focus on deciding matches on a consistent basis.

Consequently, Havertz got his head down and worked hard when he returned to Chelsea after a disappointing Euro 2020 campaign with Germany. Behind the scenes, Tuchel and his coaching team were pleased with his pre-season.

However, after making an encouraging start to the 2021-22 campaign, with Havertz bagging an assist in the UEFA Super Cup final against Villarreal before opening his Premier League account for the season at Anfield, the former Bayer Leverkusen star has begun to struggle again.

“Maybe Kai [Havertz] and Hakim [Ziyech] lack a bit of form, confidence, and that’s why we went for the mix of Timo [Werner] with the speed and intensity of the ball," Tuchel told BT Sport after dropping Havertz for last month's league game against City at Stamford Bridge.

And though he was recalled to the line-up and played the full 90 minutes against Juventus in Chelsea's last Champions League outing, there have been few signs of him recovering his position on a permanent basis.