Chelsea ‘believe’ Timo Werner could be tempted away from Liverpool — report

Timo Werner scored again on Monday night. Ho-hum.

He now has 31 goals for the season in all competitions. Is that all?

He should be the hottest name in the transfer market, especially at his €55m buyout, but the pandemic has put a damper on things. Still that fee is not insurmountable for a select few, including Chelsea who presumably have solid reserves of cash after a year of practical inaction. (The Mateo Kovačić signing sort of counts as action, but not really.)

It certainly seems a lot more likely that Chelsea spend significant money this summer than, say, Liverpool, who have been the front-runners for the RB Leipzig man’s signature. Their reluctance should create opportunity for the Blues, and that’s precisely what ESPN’s latest bit of rumor-mongering claims.

According to their sources, Chelsea “believe” that Werner “could be” tempted to give up his Anfield preference, not only thanks to the potential financial rewards, but because Tammy Abraham would be easier to unseat than Roberto Firmino. (Or, you know, we could play ... wait for it ... both!)

ESPN claim that Chelsea would “promise” regular playing time to Werner, though such promises are rare in the real world. Still, Lampard’s Chelsea have practiced good meritocracy — not perfect, but good — and that could prove tempting should Werner not fancy himself for Klopp’s system. That’s a big IF of course, but it’s small enough for a rumor.

Is it likely that Chelsea somehow end up with Werner? I doubt it. But I’ve been wrong before. And Chelsea do indeed need some extra firepower up front, and it makes much more sense to spend a little extra on Werner than to end up with some older, inferior option. (Spend big on the best, use the Academy to fill the rest, so say we all.)