The France international officially joined the club from German side RB Leipzig at the start of the month. He returned a little later than some of his teammates for pre-season; international duty in June the reason why.

Nkunku hasn't needed long to settle into the first-team squad, however. Relationships have been forged, both on and off the pitch, and it's helped the 25-year-old make an instant impact during our tour of the USA.

There was a goal against Wrexham. Another in Philadelphia against Brighton. They were different in nature but highlighted the penalty-box instinct and skill possessed by Nkunku.

'I want to show what I can do,' he says during our short stay in Atlanta. 'This is just the beginning. I still need to adapt.

'To come here and score directly in the first game, I was very happy. The first thing in my mind is to adapt with the team and my teammates –  with the club also – and improve every day.'

That mindset is one that helped Nkunku develop into one of the Bundesliga's most-feared forwards. He struck 20 league goals during the 2021/22 campaign and finished last term with 16 in 25 appearances.

Nkunku has set himself targets to hit during his debut campaign in the Premier League. Those remain private for now – and his primary focus is to ensure the team is a competitive force in the top flight.

'In this project the main thing is about the team,' he says. 'We want to be up in the table, achieve the Champions League [qualification] next season. This is the main thing, and then after yeah I have some goals, but I keep that personal.

'I was dreaming of playing in the Premier League. This is the league where I wanted to play in my career and have the chance to be. It is the biggest league in the world and every great player wanted to play in this league.'

Nkunku joined the Chelsea first-team squad a week into pre-season. At that point, it was clear Mauricio Pochettino and his staff would work the players hard to ensure they were ready for the campaign ahead.

There was no trepidation on the part of the Frenchman. The double training sessions, many of which involve intense running, are simply what is required to ensure the players are ready for our opening Premier League fixture against Liverpool.

'After the first week I spoke with one of my teammates and he said, ‘Yes, it’s very hard,’ ” Nkunku explains. 'But this is also where we are in pre-season. We need to prepare ourselves to be ready for the first game. We don’t want to take three games to be ready in the league.

'I want to work in every session, every game. I know I can do a lot of great things here. We will see in the future but I am not scared about anything.'