Vitalii Mykolenko says he has been handed a "massive responsibility" in replacing Lucas Digne as Everton's left-back.
But the 22-year-old believes the pressure of filling the void left by the "popular" Digne, who signed for Aston Villa this week, will bring out the best in him.
Mykolenko joined the Blues on January 1 from Dynamo Kiev in a deal worth around £17m.
The Ukrainian international had been a long-term target for the Blues and was being primed as Digne's successor for when Everton decided to sell the France international.
But those plans were accelerated after the player's falling out with manager Rafa Benitez.
Mykolenko only learnt of Everton's interest after playing for Dynamo on December 12 and admits he did not believe a Premier League club had made a move to sign him.
"It is a massive responsibility and I totally, totally feel it, Everton are left with one left-back and it is all down to me, my performance, and my resilience to show that I am worthy and I am totally focused on playing my role and will play to the best of my ability," Mykolenko said, of replacing Digne.
"I have a massive motivation to play and replacing a popular player. The main thing for me is to pull on the Everton shirt and the pressure I am experiencing, I think it is good for me. It makes me a better player, it makes me more resilient and more crafty on the pitch."
The last time Everton attempted to do business with Dynamo, they found the club's president, Ihor Surkis, a formidable negotiator when it came to Andriy Yarmolenko.
Everton ultimately failed to land the forward in the summer of 2015 but Mykolekno fully understands why Roberto Martinez tried to buy him.
A product of the Dynamo academy system, the left-back was ball-boy in the Olympic Stadium the night Kiev overturned a first-leg deficit to send the Blues crashing out of the Europa League.
"It is true," he said.
"I was in Dynamo Kiev’s academy at the time and we were all ball boys during the big European nights. I did assist with that and I carried the logo in the centre of the pitch when Everton came to play there in 2015.
"I have to confess that Everton’s first goal, which was scored by Lukaku, made me feel so sad and I thought this is the worst case scenario. But I also remember magnificent, absolute screamers from Yarmolenko and in particular Antunes with the fifth goal and that made my day. It is a bit of mixed emotions looking back to be honest."
Mykolenko, who has arrived at Everton with a good grasp of the English language, has talked to Seamus Coleman about that night in Kiev.
"We spoke a bit about the game and the main thing that came out of our conversation was that Andriy Yarmolenko was absolutely magnificent," Mykolenko says.
"That was pretty much it, we didn’t discuss other details. Of course, after that game Yarmolenko would be a prime target for Everton."
But where Surkis blocked Everton's attempts to sign Yarmolenko, the left-back says the Dynamo president gave him his blessing to leave for Goodison.
"My transfer has been decided in a few days, it was totally unexpected," he explains.
"I have to confess that nobody expected it, including the members of my family. Clearly when it happened, my parents refused to believe that it is happening and it is for real. That’s how unprepared we were for this good news and now I am basically living in a dream."
Mykolenko made sure to speak with countrymen Yarmolenko, who joined West Ham in 2018, and Manchester City's Oleksandr Zinchenko before joining Everton to help him prepare for English football - and the possibility of replacing Digne.
"I spoke to Zinchenko and Yarmolenko, they both say that the English Premier League is very, very tough because you have to get ready for every game as if it is your last ever game," Mykolenko said.
"Basically, you have to be mentally prepared on so many different levels. Zinchenko in particular stressed on the need to recuperate after every game because of the tough nature of the English Premier League so, basically, I am taking on board all these pieces of advice."
