For Spurs, it’s Timo to find the net
Timo Werner returned to the Premier League on Tuesday after the German international joined Tottenham for the rest of the season on loan from RB Leipzig.
The 27-year-old struggled to shine during a two-year spell at Chelsea between 2020 and 2022 after a 45-million-pound ($57 million) move.
Werner scored 23 times in 89 appearances, but did help the Blues lift the Champions League in 2021.
However, his return for a second spell at Leipzig has also been far from a success, as he fell down the pecking order under Marco Rose.
Spurs are in need of attacking reinforcements with captain Son Heung-min away at the Asian Cup for the next month.
Ivan Perisic, Manor Solomon and James Maddison are also sidelined by injury.
“A lot of things attracted me here,” Werner told Tottenham’s in-house media channels.
“First of all, the talk with the manager. I thought it was a really good talk. He gave me the feeling straight away that I need to join the club, what I want to feel when I talk to a manager, and also the tactics and the style, how he wants to play, how he lets the team play.
“For me, I immediately thought that it was a perfect fit. Then the stadium, to play there every game is something special and also the team, I think we have some very good players. All of it was very interesting to me.”
Werner has scored just twice in 14 appearances in all competitions this season.
Rose said it was only fair to allow him the chance to work his way into Germany’s squad for Euro 2024, which will be held on his home soil.
“It’s only right that Timo wants to go out on loan. Timo would like to go to the European Championship,” said Rose. “We wish him all the best and we’re crossing our fingers for him.”
Werner could make his debut when Tottenham visits Manchester United on Sunday.
Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League, just one point outside the top four and six points off league leader Liverpool.
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said on Tuesday that he wants Kylian Mbappe to stay in the French capital, claiming PSG is “the best club for him”.
Mbappe’s contract with the Ligue 1 champion runs out at the end of June and he is free to sign an agreement to join a new club for next season.
“I’m not going to hide that I want Kylian to stay,” Al-Khelaifi told broadcaster RMC. “Kylian is the best player in the world and the best club for him is Paris.”
PSG has yet to win its first Champions League title despite spending billions of euros on transfer fees since the arrival of their Qatari owners in 2011.
Mbappe has been heavily linked with a possible move to 14-time European champion Real Madrid.
“He has the best training center in the world, the best coach in the world (Luis Enrique),” said Al-Khelaifi. “Every year he’s sure of playing in the Champions League, we’re in the last 16 at least, quarterfinals, even semifinals or final, we’re there with the big clubs.”
A source involved in Mbappe’s contract negotiations told AFP last week that the France forward had waived bonuses totaling “several tens of millions” of euros in a bid to ease a move away from PSG.
But Al-Khelaifi insisted whether Mbappe stays or not “is not a question of money”.
“We have a lot of very important matches, I ask for you to leave Kylian alone, leave him alone.”