Big-money Chelsea flop 'hits rock bottom'
Robin Bairner
- 28 Oct 2023 08:57 BST
- 3 min read
Timo Werner has known some low points in his career, but when he departed Chelsea in the summer of 2022 for RB Leipzig he would only have expected things to improve.
The forward, though, has struck a new low back in his homeland, with AS describing the 27-year-old as having “hit rock bottom” following his €20 million transfer back to the Bundesliga.
Sky Deutschland reports that he is seeking to leave the club during the January transfer window.
Last season, Werner was a fixture in Marco Rose’s plans, featuring either out wide or in attack, and during that campaign he turned in a respectable 16 goals from 40 appearances in all competitions.
He had hoped to achieve similar numbers this term before Euro 2024, which Germany will host, but this is proving to be something of a nightmare campaign for him.
Werner has played 10 matches this term but his game time has been seriously reduced by a string of high-profile arrivals at Leipzig.
Lois Openda was added from Lens to bring a more natural goal scorer into the team, and the €38.5m star has settled impressively. Similarly, Benjamin Sesko, who joined from Red Bull Salzburg for €24m, and loan arrival from PSG Xavi Simons have struck the ground running. All are producing better figures than the former Chelsea man has previously achieved.
Werner has been pushed out of the starting XI, barely averaging 20 minutes per appearance so far this term. He has just one goal and one assist to his name in these minutes, while he has also been troubled by injury niggles.
What next for Timo Werner?
With the 27-year-old seeking to leave the club during January, one potential solution has arrived in the form of Eintracht Frankfurt.
And RB Leipzig would be wise to consider a sale immediately. Werner retains an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €43.3m but that figure is depreciating the longer he stays on the bench – at the end of last season he was worth closer to €55m.
If Werner does leave, it will be his last roll of the dice to make it big. Another season of mediocrity will simply not suffice.
