Timo failed but at least he tried... unlike Rom
IT DIDN’T work out for Timo Werner at Chelsea, and that is a pity. The fans recognised how hard he tried, though. They always cheered his appearance from the bench, commiserated rather than mocked when it didn’t go right. Romelu Lukaku was different. He was a high-maintenance, and very expensive, pest, who didn’t look fit enough and showed no great desire to prove otherwise. The only thing he had in common with Werner was an underwhelming goal total; Lukaku 15 in all competitions last season, Werner 11. Both men are now at their former clubs, Werner back at RB Leipzig, Lukaku with Inter Milan. Unsurprisingly, though, it is Lukaku who is more outspoken about the way his move panned out. He says he feels anger: ‘In one year, everyone has forgotten about the things I am capable of doing on the pitch.’ And whose fault is that? The way of ensuring your skills are not forgotten is to demonstrate them, regularly, and Lukaku didn’t. He lost his way with
Manchester United after a blistering opening spell, too. Inter suits him because Serie A is a weaker league and he was hankering for a return before last season was halfway done. He lost his place in the starting line-up and demonstrated little inclination to work to regain it. So, yes, much of his worth as a striker has been forgotten in England; because he so rarely showed any. Werner was a failure, too — but in a much more admirable way.