“When I joined Chelsea, I said I wanted to win it. Eventually, I experienced winning the Champions League. And I came here to win it again.”
Timo Werner (27) has changed his Tottenham uniform. Now he is taking on a new challenge.
Tottenham announced the transfer of Werner on Monday (Korea time) through its official website. He will join Tottenham on loan until the end of this season and will include the option of a full transfer. His back number is 16.
Werner’s motivation is sufficient. This is because he failed to secure a place in Leipzig, and he will start anew at Tottenham. 메이저 토토사이트
“I have already played against Tottenham as a member of Chelsea and Leipzig. I am happy to be a member of this club. A lot of things made me fall in love with it. I liked talking with manager Enzi Postecoglou,” he said on the club’s website.
“Postecoglou told me why I needed to join Tottenham, my tactics and my style of play. When I heard that, I thought it was perfect for me for Tottenham.”
“You can see how much my speed was a threat to my opponent in the Premier League. That’s what I want to show at Tottenham. I want to adapt well to the team.”
Tottenham needed to reinforce its strikers in the winter transfer market. This is because Son Heung-min, the main striker, will leave the team for about a month with his participation in the Asian Cup. If Son Heung-min is absent, Hishalisson is the only player who can play as a front-line striker. Another front-line striker, Aliho Belize, who is training in the first division, was recently injured. Even if he is healthy, he is not good enough to take charge of the front line alone.
Werner is a player who can give energy to strikers based on his fast speed and ability to breakthrough. He is one of the strikers who specializes in pressing with robust utilization. Postecoglou forms a high line to press and stage defense that takes away the ball, and analysts say that Werner suits him well. The Boot Room, a British media outlet, also said, “Considering Werner’s speed and activities when he does not have the ball, he will likely fit well with Postecoglou’s system.”
Werner, who played for Leipzig from 2016-17, was the most popular season in the 2019-20 season. At that time, he scored 28 goals in the Bundesliga, ranking second in scoring after Robert Lewandowski, who scored 34 goals.
Thanks to his performance, he moved to Chelsea. Chelsea spent 53 million euros (about 76.3 billion won) to Leipzig in 2020 to sign Werner. There were high expectations for Werner. His tactical desire was clear from Werner, who can play as a left winger with a striker. He also hoped that he would take charge of Chelsea’s forward line for a long time because he scored so many goals in the Bundesliga.
However, he did not perform as well as Germany did. In the 2020-21 season, he scored only six goals in 35 matches in the league and four goals in 21 matches in the next season. He was aggressive from the front, but his scoring ability was disappointing. There were also voices of criticism against him. Eventually, he returned to his former club Leipzig in August 2022. Chelsea admitted its failure to recruit players after paying 53 million euros but only recovered 20 million euros.
He also explained why he failed at Chelsea early last year. He mentioned his lack of confidence and the joining of competitors. “In my first season at Chelsea, I played in almost every game. I won the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League, scored in the semi-final against Real Madrid, and scored a lot of goals,” he said through The Sun in England.
“But all of that disappeared because of the coach. It’s unfair. So I went back to Leipzig to get some fun again. The coach preferred certain players over others. That was natural. I had to accept it. So I just wanted to leave.”
“Romelu Lukaku was an extremely big star striker. Chelsea had to hire him as well as they spent a lot of money, but Lukaku’s performance was not good enough. Nonetheless, I was not able to play, and things went up and down,” he recalled.
Werner returned to Germany and improved his performance. He scored a total of 16 goals last season. However, his position has narrowed again this season. He lost ground to Royce Oppenda, Yusuf Poulsen, and Benjamin Seszeko. He played in only eight Bundesliga matches this season, with only two starting matches.
Werner wanted a chance to play. Leipzig coach Marco Rose said, “It is true that Werner wants a loan. He wants to participate in the Euros.” Ultimately, he chose to move.
It was Manchester United, not Tottenham, that showed interest in Werner at first. Manchester United have been suffering from the absence of strikers in recent years. Marcus Rashford, who performed very well last season, has been sluggish, and he has closely watched Werner as a card to compete with Rasmus Hoirun, who was newly recruited.
In November last year, Florian Plattenberg, a reporter for German media “Sky Sports,” even said, “Manchester United had early discussions with Leipzig to recruit Werner.” I thought the pandemic was near, but Tottenham quickly hijacked and signed a contract.
There were no problems during the negotiation process. It took just two minutes to decide whether to go to Tottenham. According to transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, it took just two minutes for Werner to agree on a trip to Tottenham. Rumor has it that he was eager to join Tottenham.
He needed an opportunity to play and recover his self-esteem. Werner clearly left a regret at Chelsea. It can be said that he chose to transfer once again to clear up this stigma. The British media Daily Mail said, “Werner wants to rebuild his reputation. Through this performance, I plan to join the German national team.”
British media outlet Football London also gave a high evaluation of Werner’s mental strength. “It would have been relatively easy for Werner to play in Germany after two challenging years at Chelsea. However, he wants to change his perception that he is a failure in the Premier League. Postecoglou wanted to bring in this type of player.”
Werner is expected to be able to provide support both on and off the field. Werner is said to have been the most popular player in the locker room since his days at Chelsea. “I got along well with my teammates in the locker room. At the time, my teammate Tammy Abraham picked Werner as the most interesting player in the locker room.” Son’s leadership and Werner’s unique affinity can create synergy.
Werner’s commitment in Tottenham’s uniform is on fire. “When I talked to Postecoglou, he said he could play in various positions. I think my strength is that I can play all the positions up front. It would be great if there was a player who could make changes during the game,” he said. “My Champions League debut was held here at Tottenham Stadium. This has become my home stadium. It would be great if the audience cheered me up when I scored.”