Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are reportedly eying up Chelsea’s misfiring forward Timo Werner, but Thomas Tuchel must not be affected by the German forward’s lack of goals
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Spurs 0-3 Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel match reaction
When Thomas Tuchel and Marina Granovskaia ponder the future of Timo Werner, they must look to his overall contribution, rather than his average goal record.
The German was brought in for £47m from RB Leipzig during Chelsea’s lavish £222m spending spree last summer.
After a positive start, his eye for goal and his shooting boots deserted him, and the 25-year-old racked up more disallowed goals than legitimate ones.
He has been given many chances, not just by Frank Lampard, but by Tuchel as well over the course of his 15-month stay with the Blues.
And with supposed interest from Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel and Granovskaia could be faced with a stick or twist decision on Werner.
However, while Werner may not be the ice-cold goal-scorer he was brought in to be, it does not mean his benefit to Chelsea has been as absent as his finishing.
He has more than proven and justified his worth through his ability to stretch defences and provide spaces for his team mates to exploit.
It was his darting, diagonal run which drew out Ruben Dias and created the perfect alleyway for Kai Havertz to round Ederson and tap home the goal which won Chelsea their second ever Champions League title.
Werner’s movement may not be reward as an assist like Mason Mount’s sliding pass to Havertz, but the German’s contribution was just as important.
His goalscoring record may not be anywhere near his unbelievable final season with RB Leipzig where he hammered home 28 goals in 34 appearances, but his contributions to the Blues have been vital.
In the closing stages of Chelsea’ second half demolition of Tottenham Hotspur in North London; his perfectly weighted cut-back to the lurking Antonio Rudiger, allowed the defender to slot home the Blues’ third and final goal.
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While the heat has been firmly on the German striker since his arrival last summer, he has never sulked or threatened to leave the kitchen.
Very few players are better at getting themselves into dangerous positions than Werner, and the more he can put himself into those areas, the closer the penny will come to dropping.
He had a glorious chance to break his duck for the season when £97m man Romelu Lukaku played him through on goal.
Unfortunately, the German over thought what he was going to and was tackled before he even got a strike on the ball.
In the Bundesliga, he did not need to consider his finish, he just slotted it past the goalkeeper every time.
The striking instincts and predatory finishing are still buried somewhere amongst the fear and frustration in his head.
His link up play and understanding with Lukaku looked very promising in the twenty minutes they had on the pitch together at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
The Belgian’s ability to hold off defenders and bring in the players around him speaks for itself, and no player would benefit more from playing with Chelsea’s record signing than Werner.
It is the classic, old fashioned, big man little man combination, except the players involved are both world class on their day.
There are very few attributes more terrifying than pace, and the German has it in abundance.
He is sometimes too fast for his own good, which is evidenced by the fact he was flagged offside a whopping 41 times last season.
Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich reportedly view the striker as a potential replacement for Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski respectively.
German outlet SPORT1, said there was a 70% chance of Werner reuniting with his former manager Julian Nagelsmann at Bayern.
While his record of six goals last season was meagre in comparison to his Bundesliga statistics, Werner has more than carried his weight with his other contributions.
Chelsea, however, could be making a big mistake if they allowed him to leave Stamford Bridge and return to Germany.
