New Wolfsburg signing Andre Schurrle has said he will never forget his time at Chelsea and that the 18 months at Stamford Bridge improved him as player.
Schurrle, 24, joined the Wolves from Chelsea for a reported 32 million euros during the final minutes of the German transfer window on Monday.
The Germany international had seemed happy at the Blues and started the season as a first-team regular, but was seemingly moved out of the Premier League club to make room for Juan Cuadrado, who arrived from Fiorentina shortly after Schurrle's transfer was completed.
"I wanted to stay at the club, but there was a development over the past month or so, and I came to the conclusion that I needed to change something," Schurrle said during his Wolfsburg unveiling on Wednesday. "Then Wolfsburg contacted me, and their concept as well as the talks with the coach and the sporting director convinced me."
Schurrle explained that Germany coach Joachim Low also advised him to make the move to Wolfsburg.
"He said that he believes that it would be a great move for me, and to have such a backing is of course nice," Schurrle said.
Despite only spending 18 months at Chelsea after joining from Bayer Leverkusen, playing at Stamford Bridge was a memorable experience, according to the World Cup winner.
"I had a good time there. My first season was very good and I was a starter after the World Cup," Schurrle said. "But an illness threw me back and the team won the games and I was not able to return to the starting lineup.
"It was a great experience. I love that club. I have had a great development there, and it helped a lot to work under Jose Mourinho. I am a different person to the one that joined Chelsea."