Chelsea have been keeping tabs on RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner but the player has always been close to joining fellow Premier League rivals Liverpool instead of heading to London.
Werner is desperate to work with Jurgen Klopp and earlier this week his former coach Ralf Rangnick suggested that the 24-year-old should join Liverpool in the summer as it would suit his playing style.
Rangnick told BILD, as reported by Goal: “The league is less important, but the club, from a purely hypothetical point of view, I would better see him in good hands with a club that is not necessarily defined by ball possession football.
“Since Timo has made progress under Julian Nagelsmann, his most important weapons, however, are the quick switching movement and his powerful finish.
“Therefore, he would rather fit a club like Liverpool, which is similar to our style of play, but I would prefer him to stay here. In the end, it is up to Timo to decide what he wants to do. Here in Leipzig, he knows what he has. Here he can play Champions League again next year.”
Chelsea still interested in Timo Werner:
All this would have suggested that Chelsea have no chance in signing the centre-forward and would eventually pull out of the transfer race. But now as per an exclusive report in 90min, the Blues are very much in the race but they also accept that Liverpool are ahead of them in the queue.
The report claims: “Chelsea have not yet given up hope of signing RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner, although the Blues are well aware that it is Liverpool who are leading the race for the German’s signature.
“Blues boss Frank Lampard is a big fan of Werner and is confident that striking a deal to sign him would bolster his squad, but the acceptance that Liverpool are leading the race has forced the Blues to monitor other options as well.”
This is really a bold move from Chelsea especially at a time when Liverpool have reportedly asked for more time to make a final call over the transfer.
There’s no doubt Werner is eager to play under Klopp at Liverpool but if the Anfield outfit keeps taking so much time to sign one of the best centre-forwards in Europe, Chelsea might swoop in and convince the Leipzig man to move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.
