Timo Werner should be Chelsea’s full-time penalty taker

After Jorginho’s miss against Krasnodar in the Champions League, and Timo Werner’s conversion, it’s time for the German to take over the penalty duties.

The penalty taker decision may not be the biggest takeaway from Chelsea’s 4-0 thrashing (sort of) of Krasnodar on Wednesday night, but it could end up being the most important. Jorginho missed his second penalty this month and Timo Werner buried his chance. This fueled the flames surrounding the designated penalty taker title.

Before we go further, it should be stressed that this is not a reactionary take from one mistake. This is something that should’ve been implemented from the start of the season. But, seeing as it hasn’t, certain things had to happen before it could be challenged—and now they have. There are plenty of reasons for this shift to be made. To start, it was simply a case of giving your £50 million striker the confidence that comes with scoring goals, especially when those goals would be taken away from a player whose very essence is predicated on not scoring them.

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It makes no difference how many goals Jorginho scores. Not to him, not to fans, not to anyone else. First and foremost, he is a playmaker, designed to make the team tick and not the net ripple. He’s never, nor will he ever be, a stat-padder. When his back was against the wall as a Chelsea player and the announcement of his name would bring about a resounding ‘boo’ from the Stamford Bridge ‘faithful’, it might’ve been necessary. A shrewd move, in fact, to get the less tactically inclined fans on side. However, the regista has been at the club for more than two years now, and most fans understand his regista ways. Love him or loathe him, it has very little to do with his goal tally.

For Werner, on the other hand, it’s everything. Strikers are made by their scoring totals, especially those recently signed. Take into account the fact that the German is used to the 12-yard responsibilities from his days at RB Leipzig, and it seems a no-brainer. Alas, not enough brain-power was harnessed in the deciding process.

That was, until the 28-year-old hopped, skipped and bumbled his shot onto the post against Krasnodar on Tuesday night for his second miss of the campaign. As if that wasn’t enough, the awarding of a second penalty once the Italian had been substituted allowed Werner to cement his case with the subsequent lashing of said penalty into the net. Admit it, it was nice to see an old-fashioned, no-nonsense, galumphing penalty again. The skip was cool at first, but now Bruno Fernandes is doing it every 15 minutes—it’s as fun as a cough in public at the moment.

Thing is, it’s not just about padding strikers’ stats and accommodating new stars; it’s bigger than that. After all, there’s a world where Jorginho’s miss preceded another scoreless affair. In this world, the Russians’ second-half pressing warranted a deserved (sort of?) goal, and then the Blues are looking down the barrel of an ignominious defeat. Yes, Hakim Ziyech might have something to say about that possibility, but possible it remains.

Goals are the most important part of the game, and given their proclivity for stalemates in recent times, the Blues can ill afford to continue wasting spot-kick opportunities for the sake of appeasing a player many believed would depart over the summer. It’s time for Frank Lampard to step up and let Werner come to the plate—it’s Timo time.

Who do you think Chelsea’s designated penalty taker should be? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!