While Timo Werner’s time at Chelsea did not go as everyone had planned, he was someone the entire fanbase will dearly miss. In the middle of June in 2020, Chelsea agreed to sign Werner from RB Leipzig. Just over two years later, the German international returns to the place he kickstarted his career, scoring an astounding 78 goals and 27 assists in 127 league appearances. Werner came to the club at a time when the Blues were at a turning point following the transfer ban, and they were looking for firepower to help support manager Frank Lampard’s ambitions.
The German international has the World Cup on his mind, and with playing time limited at Chelsea, Werner knows that he can make a statement to Hansi Flick and the German National Team as one of the top choices up top. Thomas Tuchel plans to bring in another striker to supplement the loss this season, just like the club did before Marcos Alonso made his opinions clear on his future in Spain. The pressure at a club like Chelsea is immense and sometimes adjusting to the Premier League is tougher on others than it is for some.
Former Chelsea forward Timo Werner deserves some appreciation
Werner relies on his pace and acceleration as a forward and the English top flight has that in a short supply, but the Bundesliga plays exactly to Werner’s strengths. He was someone who left his heart on the field for the badge on his chest. Werner loved Chelsea, and it was evident in the way he played the game for the club in all competitions. From the goal celebrations to the reactions after a missed chance, the fans and the club knew he truly cared, and that in and of itself means a lot after what unfolded last season. Werner will not go down as a legend of the club, but he leaves as a Champions League winner and a well-respected footballer.
As the next striker comes in, he is going to have a tall task ahead of him when it comes to matching an attitude of an individual like Werner. When things didn’t go his way on the pitch, Werner did not play the blame game like Romelu Lukaku. He kept his head down and worked on what he could control as someone struggling to contribute in the way he may like to. His relationship with Tuchel may have waned during the end of his Chelsea career, but the fans will always remember Werner as one of their own.
Prominently, what Werner will be remembered the most for was his contributions to the Champions League run in the 2020/21 season. Werner was the club’s second-leading scorer and leader in assists as Chelsea was on its way to its second-ever Champions League title. The German international netted four goals and added three assists along the way, including scoring dagger against Real Madrid in the semifinals. He also scored the go-ahead goal against the same opposition a year later at the Santiago Bernabeu on a phenomenal individual effort that, if the Blues were to go on, could have been one of the biggest in the club’s history.
There is little optimism that Werner will get another chance in the Premier League after examining the expected goals compared to the goals over the past two seasons in the league for Chelsea. Werner had 19.5 expected goals over the last two league campaigns, and he only was able to muster 10 goals when it was all said and done. He made just 15 starts in the Premier League for the Blues last season, scoring four goals on top of one assist. Some may look at the missed opportunities, but what statistics can’t measure is the heart and passion someone has for his club. He always said the right things, showed up ready for work and did all he could in a league that simply was not built for him to succeed.
Werner may light it up in Germany once again as he attempts to lead his former club to success domestically and beyond. Since being promoted in 2016, RB Leipzig has not finished outside the top six in the German top flight, with Werner acting as the leading goalscorer in four of them. Domenico Tedesco looks to combine the youth and relentlessness of youth French star Christopher Nkunku with the pace and experience of the club’s all-time leading goalscorer to elevate themselves up the Bundesliga table.
The Werner chapter of Chelsea Football Club is now closing and a new one is ready to be opened. It may have only been a matter of time before he left the club, but it never left like he was in a rush to move away from west London. The Blues and Werner may meet again soon, and when they do, Chelsea fans will reward him with cheers and appreciation for his time at Stamford Bridge. He may have been one of the most frustrating players to watch in front of the net during his tenure, but Werner possessed something that his replacement last season lacked. Through thick and thin, Werner laid it all out for the Blues, and that is something the club and its fans will never forget, no matter what team he may be playing on in the future.
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