Timo Werner has faced a difficult 18 months since joining Chelsea, and the Germany forward seems genuinely touched that the club's fans support him despite the problems.
Werner moved to Chelsea for £47.5 million in June 2020, after the Premier League team agreed to pay his transfer fee release clause from RB Leipzig.
The striker had a reputation as a lethal goalscorer in Germany, having scored 24 goals in 38 games in his final season in the Bundesliga.
However things haven't gone according to plan in west London, with a number of missed opportunities and just the six league goals last season, leaving one fan to call for him to be sold during an open training session.
Despite that abuse, the 25-year-old has mainly been supported by the fans, and he is surprised to find that they continue to cheer him despite his lack of goals.
"Sometimes I don’t know why they are supporting me so much," Werner is reported to have told Lynsey Hooper.
"I’m a striker and I want to score but miss chances."
Werner has often been criticised for his finishing at Chelsea, whilst he's also had an unhappy knack of being offside on several occasions he has put the ball in the net.
Rafael van der Vaart recently brutally shut down any comparison between the Germany forward and former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, because of his lack of goalscoring.
However, Werner added that the support of the Chelsea fans only makes him stronger, even when things aren't going his way.
"It makes it so fun to play in front of the Chelsea fans & when they give the support they give me," he added.
"It makes me stronger when I miss chances or have hard times.
"I try to give my best every game, 100% to make sure the team are happy."
Werner isn't the only forward in Thomas Tuchel's squad who is struggling at the moment, with Romelu Lukaku also on the end of lots of criticism.
The Belgium striker recently caused uproar with his admission that he'd like to return to Inter Milan and though those problems have been alleviated he hasn't found his form.
Last weekend Lukaku was heavily criticised by the manager, following the team's tame loss to Manchester City, as they fell 13 points behind the league leaders.
Jorginho led the team's scoring in the league last season and once again it's a midfielder leading the way in this campaign, with Mason Mount the top scorer.
Topics: Premier League, Chelsea, Timo Werner
Ryan Sidle