Is Timo Werner getting better or worse for Chelsea?
Stefan Bienkowski
- 29 Nov 2021 16:25 GMT
- 5 min read
Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has lambasted Timo Werner for his poor performances for the Stamford Bridge side this season.
The Germany international missed a number of chances in his side’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday and Hasselbaink was quick to point out why Werner wsa perhaps Chelsea’s worst player on the day.
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"Poor, with the ball and without the ball. Normally he's really sharp with his runs,” said the former striker on Sky Sports.
"At the end of the day you're a number nine, you're going to be judged on the opportunities you get and what you do with them.
"It was not good enough, he needs to score at least the two chances, especially the one he takes with his right that he should have taken with his left, and he should score.
"He keeps on missing big chances, big opportunities. When it is 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1 he needs to put them away."
🗣 "Poor, with the ball, without the ball."
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sums up his thoughts on Timo Werner's performance for Chelsea pic.twitter.com/bF9i4z3hEs— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 28, 2021
So is Werner doomed to struggle at Chelsea until the London club moves him on or is he getting better with every passing week in Thomas Tuchel’s side?
Is Werner getting better or worse?
Few would doubt that while Werner certainly has a number of other attributes that make him a useful player on the pitch, the forward’s rate of goals simply hasn’t been good enough since he arrived at Chelsea.
This was made abundantly clear last season, when Werner went from scoring 0.81 goals per game in all competitions for RB Leipzig to bagging just 0.28 per 90 for Chelsea in all competitions and just 0.2 per 90 in the Premier League.
While Hasselbaink certainly has a point about Werner’s struggles in front of goal at the weekend, it’s worth noting that the striker’s rate has actually improved for Chelsea this season, with an average of 0.36 goals per 90, as opposed to last season’s 0.28.
However, when we narrow in on performances in the Premier League, Werner is actually doing slightly poorer than last season with an average of 0.18 goals per 90, which is down on last season’s average.
