Chelsea forward Timo Werner is reportedly on the radar of Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund.
Borussia Dortmund are looking to bolster their attack, and there will also be a requirement for a striker if Erling Haaland wishes to leave amid interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs. Haaland’s release clause gets activated this summer and the Bundesliga club have seemingly started preparing for the Norwegian goal-machine’s departure.
According to Sky Germany, Borussia Dortmund are considering a summer swoop for struggling Chelsea forward Timo Werner. There have been no concrete negotiations between the two clubs so far, though, as the Yellow and Black outfit weigh up their approach.
Werner, 25, was a roaring success in the Bundesliga. In 222 games for Stuttgart and RB Leipzig combined, he scored 91 goals and supplied 42 assists on top of that. A big-money move to Chelsea in 2020, however, hasn’t quite worked out for the Germany international with just seven goals in 46 Premier League outings to date.
Yet, the Blues are not dissatisfied with Timo Werner and have not transfer-listed him. But they would be open to discussing a potential transfer deal with Dortmund, whose priority target is RB Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi, the report adds.
Timo Werner to Borussia Dortmund—What should Chelsea do?
Following his exploits with RB Leipzig, Chelsea paid £48m to the German club for Timo Werner two years ago. But he has come nowhere close to reaching his potential at Stamford Bridge. After a hit and miss first season, the German has missed significant chunks this campaign with injuries and illness, thereby managing only 12 starts so far.
This has seen Werner turn into a bit-part player, with manager Thomas Tuchel preferring Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz as the central strikers. With Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi offering options to select from in wide areas, the 25-year-old has struggled to break into Tuchel’s side.
The Germany international’s situation has caught the attention of Borussia Dortmund, who want to add speed, variety and flair to Marco Rose’s attacking ranks before the 2022/23 season commences. While Werner has got pushed down the attacking pecking order, Chelsea must stick with him.
Werner’s key strengths are his speed, finishing and intelligent movement in and around the penalty area, which makes him such a tricky customer for the opposition to deal with. So far at Chelsea, he hasn’t played consistently and delivered the goods, but managing to lead the team in goal contributions in his first season in England speaks a lot about his tough character and never-say-die attitude.
At 25, the German is still some way off his best years and there have been a lot of examples of players taking time to settle in a new league. After just two seasons, it would be unfair to write off a player who was lightning up the Bundesliga just a few years back.
With time, confidence, consistency and the manager’s arm around him, there’s every chance of Timo Werner turning around his club career. And given the unstable nature of Chelsea’s current attacking setup, the player should continue to bide his time and put in the yards in training.
His goal and a brace of assists in the 3-2 comeback win vs Luton Town on a difficult day for Chelsea showed a glimpse of what he is clearly capable of achieving with a little bit of luck and confidence in front of goal.
Transfer window economics might yet see Chelsea seriously consider a sale if the right bid comes in but there is still a lot of value to be derived from this Chelsea asset.