Chelsea could regret letting Werner leave
Stuart Telford
- Updated: 1 Oct 2022 12:37 CDT
- 4 min read
Timo Werner bagged a brace for RB Leipzig on Saturday. Unlike Romelu Lukaku's deal with Inter Milan, Chelsea can't recall him - something they could live to regret.
Werner scored 23 goals and added 21 assists in 89 games in all competitions for Chelsea between making a €54 million move from RB Leipzig in 2020 and returning for €28.8m this summer.
That gave him a goal involvement of one every 137 minutes. Respectable, yes; exceptional, no - something he admitted himself recently.
Did Timo Werner just not get the love he deserved at Chelsea? 🤔pic.twitter.com/Zdx501w6yI
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 9, 2022
"Personally, it wasn't the best time for me," he reflected whilst on international duty with Germany. "I'd imagined something more. I learned a lot, won the Champions League and other trophies. I enjoyed the two years [in England] very much - and enjoyed London very much. But I was laughing and crying at the same time."
But compare that return with Lukaku's. The Belgian returned to the club last summer from Inter Milan for €110.9m, managed 15 goals and two assists at a rate of every 162 minutes, before going back whence he came this summer, but only on loan.
"[Back at] RB Leipzig, not everything's gone smoothly these first few weeks," continued Werner. "But the style of football under the new manager really suits me and prepared me well for what's required with Germany."
The Bundesliga may be four places and 31,428 places below the Premier League in the latest UEFA Coefficients, but Werner is now back up to six goals and three assists at a rate of one every 75 minutes.
What Bundesliga Tax?
And Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-min are among those to have made a mockery of the 'Bundesliga Tax' theory in recent seasons.
But crucially, Chelsea have now gone and appointed a manager in Graham Potter who would have suited Werner's game. Werner lined up on the left of a 4-4-2 on Saturday, with Andre Silva and Christopher Nkunku - a Chelsea target - leading the line, matching Nkunku's two goals from a deeper position.
While Werner was bagging a brace again Bochum, Chelsea were labouring to a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. Mason Mount took up the would-be Werner position at left-midfield, was yellow carded as then hooked before full-time. The Englishman hasn't scored from open play in
Chelsea, meanwhile, came from behind to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 - they had Mount on the left, yellow carded and hooked before full-time - hasn't had a goal from open play in for nearly five months.
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Werner might have suited Potter's style, too. Last season Leandro Trossard had a higher Premier League goal involvement than any other Brighton player under Potter, lining up on the left!
Werner's age - he is still 26 - is also Todd Boehly's "Vision 2030"-friendly.
If Lukaku comes back it will likely only be as a bargaining chip for further transfer business next summer. Werner might have proved a return on investment after all, but we'll never know, because his move was a permanent one.
