Timo Werner has become one of Europe’s top goal scorers under Julian Nagelsmann as Chelsea appear to pip Liverpool to transfer
Chelsea appear to have beaten off competition to sign the much wanted Timo Werner from RB Leipzig.
Liverpool were heavily linked with the 24-year-old, who has scored 25 Bundesliga goals this season and former Chelsea defender Jason Cundy says the deal makes sense due to his age, stats and price tag – said to be £53million.
Werner has shown a killer instinct in front of goal in Germany
“It’s a no-brainer,” he told the Sports Bar on talkSPORT.
“I’m amazed Chelsea are the only side in this because surely Man United and Liverpool are also looking at him and thinking this is not a lot of money.”
Only Robert Lewandowski has scored more goals than Werner this season, but Julian Nagelsmann, his coach at Leipzig explained the different styles of the two earlier this season.
“We don’t want him right on the last line, because he needs a bit of a head start in order to really show his pace on the pitch,” he told bundesliga.com.
Nagelsmann has also unsurprisingly advised Werner against leaving Leipzig
“When he’s on the last line, he often finds himself static when he needs to get going, but with a bit of room in front of him, he can hit top speed. And from this deeper position, he’s much more involved in our build-up play and combinations.”
Clearly it’s not all about goals and Werner has created seven this season, though since joining Leipzig in 2016 he has improved the variation in his game and is very much the modern day striker.
“He’s having many more touches of the ball than in previous years, and this new position has done his development good, playing in between the lines against teams who sit deep,” Nageslmann added.
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“That’s another trait he’ll need if he wants to be one of the best in Europe. There are a lot of teams who sit deep and defend deep against you, and he needs that second way of being dangerous to opponents too, and he’s definitely developed that this year.”
Werner, who Nageslmann says is just as deadly on the wing, joins an attack that now includes Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and Tammy Abraham.
And Bundesliga commentator Kevin Hatchard told talkSPORT that variation is one of the attractive things about him.
“I think he is dangerous when he can pull into that half space in the inside left channel, but he can also play through the middle,” adding the coaching of Nagelsmann has contributed to him becoming one of Europe’s most well rounded players.
Werner joined Leipzig from Hoffenheim in 2017 and is now on the verge of leaving for Premier League side Chelsea in a £53m
“Nagelsmann is working with him to be more flexible and to get his head up and look, because sometimes he could be a player who would go missing in games; if the game wasn’t going particularly well you wouldn’t see him for big chunks of it.
“He might score you goals but the all-round contribution wouldn’t be as good; but now he’s looking for teammates.
“He is an excellent player and I think, potentially, Chelsea have got a very, very good player.
“If it all gets wrapped up I think it would be a really smart signing.”
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