Werner to Barca: Can Xavi tempt Germany star from Chelsea?
Martin Macdonald
- 24 Nov 2021 08:37 CST
- 5 min read
Barcelona are looking at a number of attacking targets in the January transfer window, including Chelsea forward Timo Werner.
During the summer, Barca were ordered to slash their wage bill which is what ultimately led to the departures of key forwards Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.
Even though Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Luuk de Jong were brought in, only the former Lyon man has made an impact.
There are doubts as to whether Aguero's career will be able to continue due to a heart condition, while De Jong emerged as a panic buy by Ronald Koeman.
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With Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele both injury prone, new head coach Xavi has been left with limited options in the final third, which is why he is looking to improve the squad in January.
The number one target remains Raheem Sterling, as the Manchester City winger has previously suggested he would be open to moving abroad if it meant receiving more playing time.
He has fallen down the pecking order at the Etihad following the arrival of Jack Grealish.
Barcelona currently cannot sign any players in the upcoming window so will be forced to rely on potential loan deals.
Man City will apparently not let Sterling leave unless they receive an obligatory transfer fee in the summer.
That has led to Barca identifying other targets - players who have a high profile but are not receiving much playing time.
Werner and Ziyech targets for Barcelona
Two of the players on their list are Werner and Hakim Ziyech, though the former is more desired at the moment as Xavi wants a new centre-forward.
The German international has found things tough since his €53 million transfer from RB Leipzig last summer.
In his debut campaign, he scored just six Premier League goals and it was his lack of impact at Stamford Bridge that ultimately led to Chelsea spending the highest fee in their history to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club.
Since Lukaku's return, Werner has played second fiddle to the big Belgian, often left out wide or simply left out of the team altogether.
With Lukaku in the squad, Werner will never be considered as the main man for Chelsea in the striker position.
That is why Barcelona and Xavi believe they can tempt him to Camp Nou.
However, before the Blaugrana can bring anyone in, they will need to save either on wages or sell players.
They are closing in on their salary cap for the season, but they are allowed to spend 25% of any money they bring in from wage savings or player sales on new recruits.
