Schalke 04 defender Baba Rahman has set sights on recapturing the form that saw him once touted as the "next big thing" in world football. The Ghanaian, who was snapped up by English giants Chelsea from German outfit Augsburg in 2015 following an amazing season, has struggled to live up to expectations since his major breakthrough.

He currently plays on loan for Bundesliga side Schalke, where he is hoping to relive his glory days. "Never too late to become the best in the world," Baba tweeted on Sunday.

"It has not been the best of starts to the season but working every minute to turn things around quickly." After 31 league appearances, involving 29 starts, for Augsburg in 2014-16, Baba joined Chelsea on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee, reportedly rejecting overtures from the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus and AS Roma.

According to reports, the Blues paid an initial £14 million, rising to a potential fee of almost £22 million, for the left-back.

Fifteen Premier League outings in his first season in England, however, prompted a loan move away to Schalke for the 2016-17 season.

Things turned worse when he picked up an injury while playing for Ghana at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon, cutting short his stint with the Royal Blues after half-a-season.

Following a long layoff, the full-back rejoined Schalke on a two-year loan in summer last year after seemingly regaining fitness.

Further relapses, however, limited him to just one Bundesliga appearance, which came on the final matchday of the campaign.

He looks to have put his injury troubles behind for good this term, having started all three games played by Schalke in all competitions so far.

It has not, however, been a good start to the season for Rahman and his teammates, as they have already lost 1-2 away to Wolfsburg, and have also suffered 0-2 home loss to Hertha Berlin.

They currently lie 15th on the 18-team log.

Schalke will next travel to play Monchengladbach on Saturday when the German Bundesliga resumes this weekend after the international break.