Chelsea announced the signing of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig on Thursday after triggering his release clause of €53 million.
The Germany international became Chelsea’s second signing of the summer after Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech. Werner, who has torn apart Bundesliga defences for fun this season, has signed a five-year contract with the Blues.
Talking about his move to the London giants, Werner told Chelsea’s official website:
“I am delighted to be signing for Chelsea, it is a very proud moment for me to be joining this great club. I look forward to next season with my new team-mates, my new manager and of course the Chelsea fans. Together we have a very successful future ahead of us.”
The Germany international is expected to join the west London giants in July, subject to passing a medical with the club.
As a result, Werner will not take any more part in Leipzig’s UEFA Champions League campaign this season.
With Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner already in their ranks, and another top prodigy, Kai Havertz of Bayer Leverkusen, also being heavily linked with the club, the Blues have made their intentions of challenging for the Premier League title in 2020-21 crystal clear.
So, with the addition of Timo Werner, let us discuss whether Chelsea have enough ammunition to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title next season.
Timo Werner is a proven goalscorer
The 24-year-old is currently enjoying the most prolific season of his career, having already scored 32 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions for RB Leipzig.
Besides, the young striker has also provided 13 assists.
Werner’s game is strongly built on his pace and ability to find the back of the net. Chelsea now certainly have the advantage of having a proven goalscorer in their ranks.
Chelsea’s attacking third now world-class, at least on paper
Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, Tammy Abraham, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount, Ross Barkley, Olivier Giroud, and Callum Hudson-Odoi – Chelsea, on paper next season, will certainly have one of the most frightening attacking thirds in England and maybe Europe if manager Frank Lampard can make them dance to a single tune.
Considered as one of the best young strikers in Europe at this moment, Timo Werner is well renowned for his pace, skills, link-up play, and potency in front of goal.
Although considered as an out-and-out central forward, Werner can play the role of a second striker too.
At Leipzig, the forward has often been deployed in a wide role in the front three. So, with Werner’s addition, Lampard will have the luxury of having a utility marksman who can float anywhere in the attacking third as per the requirement of the situation.
Werner’s consistency and injury-free nature
One of the attributes of Timo Werner, which has often been overlooked, is how consistent and injury-free he has been for Leipzig since his arrival in 2016 from VfB Stuttgart.
The 24-year-old has participated in 97% of Bundesliga games for Leipzig this season, accumulating a total of 2656 minutes, and we are already aware of his goalscoring exploits.
Since 2016, the forward has only missed a total of 12 matches across all competitions through injuries, making more than 190 appearances for RB Leipzig. So, Werner is not only consistent in front of goal but the German also barely gets injured.
All’s not well for Chelsea though
In the past few seasons, the main reason behind Chelsea’s sufferings in the Premier League has been their defensive organization, and Timo Werner’s arrival will not address that problem.
So far this campaign, amongst the top six outfits in the Premier League, Chelsea have conceded the maximum number of goals (39), 18 more than league leaders Liverpool.
So, Chelsea’s vulnerability lies in their leaky defensive organization, and they have done nothing yet to rectify it.
Moreover, Chelsea’s squad seem a bit too young and inexperienced to be a proper threat to the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City.
The current average age of the Chelsea squad is around 26.2 years. With the arrival of 24-year-old Werner, and the possible exits of veterans Willian and Pedro, the average age of the squad is bound to decrease further.
Winning a Premier League title over the course of 38 matches not only requires energy and cheerfulness of the youth, but it also demands proper steeliness, and serenity from the experienced campaigners. And Chelsea seem to lack the latter.
Although Timo Werner’s arrival will surely help the Blues going forward, Frank Lampard do need to assess and address a few other issues to make Chelsea genuine title contenders next season.
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