Spurs make shock swoop for Werner
Chelsea flop gets a shot at redemption
TOTTENHAM last night agreed a shock move to sign former Chelsea forward Timo Werner on loan from Germany’s RB Leipzig. Werner is due to arrive in London today to finalise terms and undergo a medical once he has been given permission to travel from Leipzig’s training camp in La Manga, Spain.
He was left out of a 1-0 friendly win over St Gallen yesterday as coach Marco Rose confirmed: ‘It’s right that Timo wants to go on loan. Timo would like to go to the European Championship.
‘We wish him all the best and are keeping our fingers crossed for him.’
The 27-year-old had made 14 appearances, predominantly from the bench, this season and scored twice. Manchester United and Aston Villa were understood to be among the clubs who had been sounded out about his availability, but talks with Spurs accelerated on Friday.
Negotiations around the structure of the transfer were being finalised yesterday, with Tottenham agreeing to pay Werner’s £4.5million salary for the rest of the season in full, while the deal also includes an option to buy for around £14.5m.
The move has raised eyebrows as Werner’s stint with bitter rivals Chelsea was not viewed as a success. However, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou views Werner’s pace and selfless work ethic as ideal qualities to suit his tactics and his squad.
Tottenham will be without Son Heung-min for around a month as he represents South Korea in the Asia Cup while Alejo Veliz has suffered a knee injury and there is interest from Saudi Arabia in Richarlison, though that is likely to be rebuffed until the summer at least.
But strengthening their forward line was viewed as a second priority to bringing in a centreback this month. Spurs remain on course to fulfil that requirement as talks continue with Genoa over a £22m deal for Romania defender Radu Dragusin, 21.
For Werner’s part, he will be determined to prove himself in the Premier League this time around. He arrived at Chelsea from Leipzig for £47.5m with a reputation for being a prolific goalscorer, but struggled to adapt and a series of missed chances saw his confidence wane.
He still managed 23 goals in 89 games but it wasn’t enough to justify Chelsea’s outlay and they took a huge hit by selling
him back to Leipzig for £18m plus add-ons in 2022.
Although his return started with promise, he has since struggled to nail down a starting place, with Leipzig adding Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda to their squad. Now he is hoping he can rebuild his reputation under Postecoglou and earn a recall to the German national side.
Meanwhile, defender Eric Dier is awaiting updates from Bayern Munich about whether they will pursue a move for him this month. Postecoglou has underlined that despite a hamstring injury to Ben Davies, he would still be willing to let Dier leave after 10 years at the club.
Asked last night how did Dier sound as an addition to his Bayern squad, manager Thomas Tuchel replied: ‘English! Have you asked the sporting director? There will be no comment from me.’ Sporting director Christoph Freund said: ‘I know the player but can’t say anything. We do not engage in speculation.’