According to Eurosport, Chelsea are in the race along with Manchester City to sign Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland.
Though the report does not mention anything about Timo Werner’s situation, Chelsea signing Erling Haaland would clearly challenge Werner’s position in the team. Chelsea splashed £45m to sign the German attacker. So, would it be wise of them to show a lack of trust in their current star and sign another young and talented striker?
For a player who was one of the best frontmen in Bundesliga, Werner has failed to reach those standards at Chelsea. The 24-year-old was expected to solve Chelsea’s long-standing striker issues and occupy the position for the long run. Whatever be the reason, Werner has looked a shadow of his Leipzig days.
The German has looked really uncomfortable leading the line and has not been able to produce good numbers in front of the goal. It looks painfully obvious that his confidence is on the floor and nothing is helping him. Things looked at an all-time low during the final days of Frank Lampard’s managerial career at the Bridge.
Chelsea are a trigger happy club. The Blues pretty much signed an entirely new XI in the summer splurge.
They went after some hot prospects like Kai Havertz and Werner. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich went ahead and sacked Frank Lampard a few weeks ago and replaced him with Thomas Tuchel.
Given their interest now in Erling Haaland, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we see them move for him. However, that would mean Werner’s chances of being Chelsea’s spearhead will take a huge dent. Both the players are centre-forwards by trade. Given the form that the 20-year-old Haaland has shown, it would be hard to see him not become the main man at Stamford Bridge.
Amidst all that, Thomas Tuchel came out speaking about Werner during his initial days. He said that improving Werner’s form was up to him. This shows that the German manager trusts the young forward’s abilities.
Werner is by no means a poor quality striker despite his drop in form. His Bundesliga record speaks for itself – 28 goals and 8 assists in the 2019/20 Bundesliga season. (Stats Credit: Transfermarkt)
While it remains to be seen how Werner thrives in his new role, he now has a manager who is willing to put his weight behind him. Chelsea need to give Werner some time to showcase his talent and not just pull the gun on him by signing Haaland.