Germany manager Hansi Flick has claimed that Chelsea forward Timo Werner is “under-appreciated”.
There was much fanfare around Werner when he joined Chelsea for £45m in 2020.
The Germany international had just come off scoring 28 goals and providing 8 assists in 34 Bundesliga games for RB Leipzig the season before, averaging a goal or assist every 78 minutes.
This form did not translate to the Premier League, having only scored 10 goals in 56 games across the two years he’s spent in west London.
When you factor in his £268k-per-week salary, the 26-year-old has cost the Blues over £72m, a return of £7.2m per goal.
His international coach Flick, however, believes the Stuttgart-born striker has other attributes beyond goalscoring that makes him a valuable player.
“With Timo, it’s a bit under-appreciated what he brings to the team. There’s a willingness to go out of his way, to put the opponent under pressure, to create spaces in front of the defence. He implements well.”
Our Thoughts on Flick’s Werner claims…
Football is a team sport, and Werner’s stats suggest that he is far from your usual selfish striker. In his debut season for Chelsea, no other player in the side provided more Premier League assists than his eight.
This approach to his game is appreciated by his teammates, with Mason Mount lauding him as “brilliant” after his Player of the Match display in the FA Cup semi-final.
“You can see he’s full of energy. In the second half there was a moment where he missed a chance but then me and Jorginho were laughing on the bench because he sprinted all the way back to the halfway line and made a tackle.
“That’s what we’re all about. He gives everything so I’m very pleased for him.”
Furthermore, while the 5 foot 11 marksman’s goalscoring record at Stamford Bridge is questionable, his trophy haul is not.
The £37.8m-rated speedster has won three trophies with the Blues, including the 2021 Champions League.
The former Leipzig attacker played a pivotal role in that triumph, starting ten games and finishing the tournament with four goals and three assists.
There seems to be a significant difference between his form in the Champions League and the league, suggesting that he plays his best in the big games.
This can be seen in this campaign, where he has the highest WhoScored rating at the club in European games, but in the league has the second-lowest out of anyone that has featured in at least five games.
If it keeps bringing Chelsea success like it currently is, then you have to say that Werner is worth the money despite the lack of goals.
AND in other news, Another Lukaku situation: Chelsea must avoid swoop for £58.5m-rated “absolute beast”…
