Timo Werner

[killer1257 3,282]

RB Leipzig are the only side Bayern have not beaten this season. 

So RB Leipzig CL winners confirmed? [emoji848]

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[Jase 43,479]

5 minutes ago, killer1257 said:

So RB Leipzig CL winners confirmed?

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For Werner's sake, one would hope not.  

From a German and non-Bayern fan perspective, would Germans prefer Leipzig or Bayern to win the CL? 

[killer1257 3,282]

For Werner's sake, one would hope not. [emoji38] 

From a German and non-Bayern fan perspective, would Germans prefer Leipzig or Bayern to win the CL? 

I do not like both teams, but Bayern winning the CL would be the worst outcome for me because most German football fans, regardless where you live in Germany, are Bayern fans. Bayern fans hate us and Bayern board hate us too. Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß always talk bad about us when they have the chance. We never even reply back. It is not like Lampard, Marina or Cech answer back when they talk shit about us. Sky Germany hates us too because they are Bayern fans. Furthermore, Bayern is a very arrogant team and I would say that right now, they are the most arrogant team in the world.

Always insulting us, or insulting BVB for no reason. Just sucks...

If Leipzig wins, I would be fine. I do not even know one guy that supports Leipzig. I usually hate Real Madrid more than Bayern, but this season Bayern is just too cocky.

 

When Bayern won the CL 2013, I was fine with that. But now, enough is enough. Overall I think most Germans would like to see Bayern winning against Leipzig in a potential final because most German are Bayern fans and RB Leipzigs success comes from outside investors.

 

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[Magic Lamps 11,450]

1 hour ago, killer1257 said:

I do not like both teams, but Bayern winning the CL would be the worst outcome for me because most German football fans, regardless where you live in Germany, are Bayern fans. Bayern fans hate us and Bayern board hate us too. Rummenigge and Uli Hoeneß always talk bad about us when they have the chance. We never even reply back. It is not like Lampard, Marina or Cech answer back when they talk shit about us. Sky Germany hates us too because they are Bayern fans. Furthermore, Bayern is a very arrogant team and I would say that right now, they are the most arrogant team in the world.

Always insulting us, or insulting BVB for no reason. Just sucks...

If Leipzig wins, I would be fine. I do not even know one guy that supports Leipzig. I usually hate Real Madrid more than Bayern, but this season Bayern is just too cocky.

 

When Bayern won the CL 2013, I was fine with that. But now, enough is enough. Overall I think most Germans would like to see Bayern winning against Leipzig in a potential final because most German are Bayern fans and RB Leipzigs success comes from outside investors.

 

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That sums it up quite well. What I also hate about Bayern ‚fans‘ is this constant talk about ‚meine Bayern‘ were everybody pretends they have a family tradition of being Bayern fans and have been fans all life such BS when most of them have not even been in Munich ever.  And then every year they throw a fit when Bayern starts the season badly demand managers sacked etc and when they win the league they don’t even give a shit cos they know it’s worthless but still insist on best league in the world BS.

The shit Hoeneß Talked about us in 2005 After afterwards was plain pathetic envy. We did not respond and rightly so bc it is not worth a response. Yet it is obvious why we never have done business with Bayern. Maybe after Khr and all those old fks retire there can be a normal business relationship. Makes snatching Werner and Havertz from them even sweeter tho. 

What tops it is One guy I went to school with who is also a Bayern fan Since like 2008 declared that he also is lifelong Real Madrid fan in 2018 lol
 

anyway in RBL-Bauern final, clear preference for die Bullen but never gonna happen

[DDA 9,570]

2 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

That sums it up quite well. What I also hate about Bayern ‚fans‘ is this constant talk about ‚meine Bayern‘ were everybody pretends they have a family tradition of being Bayern fans and have been fans all life such BS when most of them have not even been in Munich ever.  And then every year they throw a fit when Bayern starts the season badly demand managers sacked etc and when they win the league they don’t even give a shit cos they know it’s worthless but still insist on best league in the world BS.

The shit Hoeneß Talked about us in 2005 After afterwards was plain pathetic envy. We did not respond and rightly so bc it is not worth a response. Yet it is obvious why we never have done business with Bayern. Maybe after Khr and all those old fks retire there can be a normal business relationship. Makes snatching Werner and Havertz from them even sweeter tho. 

What tops it is One guy I went to school with who is also a Bayern fan Since like 2008 declared that he also is lifelong Real Madrid fan in 2018 lol
 

anyway in RBL-Bauern final, clear preference for die Bullen but never gonna happen

Just out of interest... how did yourself or other Germans become fans of Chelsea? Do you live in Germany?? I'm not baiting you or anything, just genuinely curious as you would be hard pushed to find Englishman supporting Byern or Dortmund over Man U or Liverpool here. I thought the natural lure when born in Germany would be to support one of those two, unless you were born here of course.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

Fuck Bayern and the horse they came in on, one of the most well run clubs yes but also supremely arrogant twats that see themselves above others.

[King Kante 1,297]

9 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

That sums it up quite well. What I also hate about Bayern ‚fans‘ is this constant talk about ‚meine Bayern‘ were everybody pretends they have a family tradition of being Bayern fans and have been fans all life such BS when most of them have not even been in Munich ever.  And then every year they throw a fit when Bayern starts the season badly demand managers sacked etc and when they win the league they don’t even give a shit cos they know it’s worthless but still insist on best league in the world BS.

The shit Hoeneß Talked about us in 2005 After afterwards was plain pathetic envy. We did not respond and rightly so bc it is not worth a response. Yet it is obvious why we never have done business with Bayern. Maybe after Khr and all those old fks retire there can be a normal business relationship. Makes snatching Werner and Havertz from them even sweeter tho. 

What tops it is One guy I went to school with who is also a Bayern fan Since like 2008 declared that he also is lifelong Real Madrid fan in 2018 lol
 

anyway in RBL-Bauern final, clear preference for die Bullen but never gonna happen

This kind of sounds like the Dipper's without the poverty and the murdering. 

[Vesper 27,315]

6 hours ago, DDA said:

you would be hard pushed to find Englishman supporting Byern or Dortmund over Man U or Liverpool here. 

ahhhh, but ask an Englishwoman!!!

lolol

Bayern over those ratfuckers allllllllllllllllllll day, allllllllllllllllllll night

[BlueLyon 9,359]

50 minutes ago, Vesper said:

ahhhh, but ask an Englishwoman!!!

lolol

Bayern over those ratfuckers allllllllllllllllllll day, allllllllllllllllllll night

are u from manchester or liverpool? If you were I guess you would be supporting homeclub, thats where DDA was coming from I guess.

Anyway you still support Chelsea which is english, so he proved his point😁

[BlueLyon 9,359]

10 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

That sums it up quite well. What I also hate about Bayern ‚fans‘ is this constant talk about ‚meine Bayern‘ were everybody pretends they have a family tradition of being Bayern fans and have been fans all life such BS when most of them have not even been in Munich ever.  And then every year they throw a fit when Bayern starts the season badly demand managers sacked etc and when they win the league they don’t even give a shit cos they know it’s worthless but still insist on best league in the world BS.

The shit Hoeneß Talked about us in 2005 After afterwards was plain pathetic envy. We did not respond and rightly so bc it is not worth a response. Yet it is obvious why we never have done business with Bayern. Maybe after Khr and all those old fks retire there can be a normal business relationship. Makes snatching Werner and Havertz from them even sweeter tho. 

What tops it is One guy I went to school with who is also a Bayern fan Since like 2008 declared that he also is lifelong Real Madrid fan in 2018 lol
 

anyway in RBL-Bauern final, clear preference for die Bullen but never gonna happen

Doesnt entire germany hate Leipzig for how they got to the top? They were created 10 years ago...like its against tradition etc.

And anyone who isnt a Bayern fan probably also hates Bayern.

So it would be fun to see a german final and neutral germans who they would want to win😄😄 

It would be like being Chelsea fan and Arse-Spuds play in final...Id hope for a dinosaurs to attack the stadium.

[Vesper 27,315]

20 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

are u from manchester or liverpool? If you were I guess you would be supporting homeclub, thats where DDA was coming from I guess.

Anyway you still support Chelsea which is english, so he proved his point😁

West London born and raised

South Kensington

I hate most English teams

I do not hate QPR, Brentford, Fulham

I am extraordinarily London-centric

would never live anywhere in England except for the London area, although I do like Bristol to a point

I would die a slow death if I had to go live in the Midlands or Yorkshire or Merseyside or Tyneside, etc etc

[Superblue 6,331]

35 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

It would be like being Chelsea fan and Arse-Spuds play in final...Id hope for a dinosaurs to attack the stadium.

Last year's champions league final was pretty much as bad as that.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

19 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

Last year's champions league final was pretty much as bad as that.

For as much I dislike Pool, they built a nice team with clear vision and not ridiculously overspend. The fact they brought some homegrown talent like Gomes and TAA, bought Robertson for peanuts and turned them into top LB, bought Salah and Mane who were good, but now world class. And lastly, they played fantastic football. In a world where City spends so much only to bench their stars, same with Real or Barca and then they complain and go buy even more, I admire Pools philosophy of building a squad. Yes they bought Dijk, Alison etc, but they play them all the time. Same for the front 3. And thats what football is about. Not buying Mahrez, Bale, James, Griezmann, Coutinho and then bench them, killing their careers and stopping the chance for their previous clubs to reach something. The idea to need the hottest fruit just so that others dont even if you dont need it and then keep them on bench or loan them out cuz they dont fit. Like fuck that, this isnt what football is about. We could have a top team in Atletico led by Griezmann or Mahrez, Cout could actualy be a star in their team so we could enjoy the show every weekend. But no, the big rich clubs want everything even if they dont need it.

So yeah, as a Chelsea fan I dislike Pool, but as a football fan, I respect that and like it that they buy players they need and build a team.

After all Klopps Dortmund was my favourite non Chelsea team in a long time. They played some brilliant footie too with no superstars.

So them winning CL wasnt the end of the world for me. They were the best team last year. Credit where its due. And they shat on Tottenham who I hate even more along Arse and Barca.

With the title now they got cocky. I dont like that anymore. And Fabinho has always been such a cunt.

[Vesper 27,315]

15 hours ago, Jason said:

RB Leipzig are the only side Bayern have not beaten this season. 

yep, 2 draws

so a true rubber match IF they meet

[Superblue 6,331]

1 hour ago, BlueLyon said:

For as much I dislike Pool, they built a nice team with clear vision and not ridiculously overspend. The fact they brought some homegrown talent like Gomes and TAA, bought Robertson for peanuts and turned them into top LB, bought Salah and Mane who were good, but now world class. And lastly, they played fantastic football. In a world where City spends so much only to bench their stars, same with Real or Barca and then they complain and go buy even more, I admire Pools philosophy of building a squad. Yes they bought Dijk, Alison etc, but they play them all the time. Same for the front 3. And thats what football is about. Not buying Mahrez, Bale, James, Griezmann, Coutinho and then bench them, killing their careers and stopping the chance for their previous clubs to reach something. The idea to need the hottest fruit just so that others dont even if you dont need it and then keep them on bench or loan them out cuz they dont fit. Like fuck that, this isnt what football is about. We could have a top team in Atletico led by Griezmann or Mahrez, Cout could actualy be a star in their team so we could enjoy the show every weekend. But no, the big rich clubs want everything even if they dont need it.

So yeah, as a Chelsea fan I dislike Pool, but as a football fan, I respect that and like it that they buy players they need and build a team.

After all Klopps Dortmund was my favourite non Chelsea team in a long time. They played some brilliant footie too with no superstars.

So them winning CL wasnt the end of the world for me. They were the best team last year. Credit where its due. And they shat on Tottenham who I hate even more along Arse and Barca.

With the title now they got cocky. I dont like that anymore. And Fabinho has always been such a cunt.

For me Spurs are the most hated team and it's not really close.

But Liverpool are very much up there. I've got no respect for them or their entitled fan base. The media love in, even over the years they've been awful, is embarrassing and that also extends to Klopp who seems to be the media's blue eyed boy, allowing him to act up, criticise, etc because he's 'passionate' and 'charming'.

I would take City every day of the year to win something over Liverpool regardless of money spent, etc. Man City just don't mean anything to me. There's no real rivalry there besides competing for trophies in recent years. 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

29 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

For me Spurs are the most hated team and it's not really close.

But Liverpool are very much up there. I've got no respect for them or their entitled fan base. The media love in, even over the years they've been awful, is embarrassing and that also extends to Klopp who seems to be the media's blue eyed boy, allowing him to act up, criticise, etc because he's 'passionate' and 'charming'.

I would take City every day of the year to win something over Liverpool regardless of money spent, etc. Man City just don't mean anything to me. There's no real rivalry there besides competing for trophies in recent years. 

thats the thing. Hate on the media for being subjective twats. Hate on fans for being twats.

If the players are twats and get cocky, I will dislike them. I never liked Fabinho or Henderson. But their front 3, Alisson, TAA, Robertson are good players. I despise Barca and I couldnt stand Alves, but man he was superb fullback. Or Ramos. Dude is actualy a twat. But anyone would kill to have a captain like him. 

If Klopp and his team plays well and entertain, credit where its due. 

I mean when I was younger, I remember it was popular to hate on them, but eventualy it makes no sense, its childish to me nowdays. Unless I watch a game and they dive and cheat, foul, sure thats disgusting and I hate them, but what happens outside or with media, the fans, I mean I couldnt care less.

I guess if you are english and have interactions with their toxic fans and media every day, thats another thing.

For me thats a non issue. I know a few arse, united, pool "fans" but they are all good so its not problem. 

When it comes to clubs, its obvious to hate rivals in england or europe, but its also a great experience to learn how to control emotions and appreciate good players and football. That way you experience more.

I used to despise many players cuz they beat us or something and you would go on with oh that guy Alves, Ronaldo, Gerrard etc...they are such cunts yadayada. They aint shit. But at the end they are all world class players. And its joy to watch.

But when it comes to games where we play against them..then I turn that appreciation off and its us above anyone. Chelsea win no matter what. 🙂

What pisses me the most however are the refs and var. I hate that more than I will ever hate pool or spuds or anyone. For a while, I even considered to stop watching footie for sometime, I mean the game is good, but refs and var fuck everything up like its rigged. Its impossible to watch then. 

[Superblue 6,331]

2 minutes ago, BlueLyon said:

thats the thing. Hate on the media for being subjective twats. Hate on fans for being twats.

If the players are twats and get cocky, I will dislike them. I never liked Fabinho or Henderson. But their front 3, Alisson, TAA, Robertson are good players. I despise Barca and I couldnt stand Alves, but man he was superb fullback. Or Ramos. Dude is actualy a twat. But anyone would kill to have a captain like him. 

If Klopp and his team plays well and entertain, credit where its due. 

I mean when I was younger, I remember it was popular to hate on them, but eventualy it makes no sense, its childish to me nowdays. Unless I watch a game and they dive and cheat, foul, sure thats disgusting and I hate them, but what happens outside or with media, the fans, I mean I couldnt care less.

I guess if you are english and have interactions with their toxic fans and media every day, thats another thing.

For me thats a non issue. I know a few arse, united, pool "fans" but they are all good so its not problem. 

When it comes to clubs, its obvious to hate rivals in england or europe, but its also a great experience to learn how to control emotions and appreciate good players and football. That way you experience more.

I used to despise many players cuz they beat us or something and you would go on with oh that guy Alves, Ronaldo, Gerrard etc...they are such cunts yadayada. They aint shit. But at the end they are all world class players. And its joy to watch.

But when it comes to games where we play against them..then I turn that appreciation off and its us above anyone. Chelsea win no matter what. 🙂

I understand where you're coming from. I'm a big fan of New Orleans Saints and as a result I don't particularly like Atlanta Falcons. But as a non-American fan, I wouldn't hold the level of hate that most would towards them.

I think it is incredibly tribal-like in England though. There may be a grudging respect sometimes for players or a team but for me it will never waiver from a feeling of hate for teams such as Spurs, Arsenal, United, Liverpool, Leeds. 

I don't even bother supporting or following the national team. I've never been able to because there are too many players that I've spent hating playing for rival clubs, that it is impossible to just turn that switch on and off, so I simply stopped trying to since I was a teenager. 

[Vesper 27,315]

How Timo Werner will fit in at Chelsea

https://theathletic.com/2004756/2020/08/19/timo-werner-position-chelsea/

In the 50th minute of their Bundesliga match at home against RB Leipzig in June, FC Koln won a free-kick in a promising position on the right flank. As he prepared to deliver the ball into a crowded penalty area, Florian Kainz would have been forgiven for paying little attention to Timo Werner, the lone man stationed in a token wall on the corner of the box. If anything, the sight of one of Europe’s most prolific goalscorers so far away from the Koln goal would have been a reassuring one.

But the moment Kainz’s cross sailed over his head, Werner broke into a forward jog. As soon as he saw Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi rise highest to claim the cross, that jog became a sprint:

Gulacsi looked up and quickly fired a long diagonal kick deep into the Koln half that sent Werner — having outrun Kainz, as well as two opposition players deployed on the halfway line precisely to guard against the threat of a counter-attack — clean through on goal. Despite the 60-yard dash, the striker had the poise to bring the ball into his stride with two quick touches before whipping a low shot around Timo Horn and into the far corner.

All in all, it took less than 10 seconds for the ball to travel the length of the pitch; from Gulacsi’s hands to the back of Horn’s net. The goal would not have been possible without the Leipzig goalkeeper’s sharp awareness and perfect distribution but it also showcased everything that makes Werner such an exciting addition to the Premier League — and a devastating new weapon that will sharpen Chelsea’s inconsistent attack.

The question for Frank Lampard now is what is the best way to use him?

---

Having begun his senior career as a right winger with inconsistent end product at Stuttgart, Werner found his true value at Leipzig either cutting into shooting positions from the left or playing on the shoulder of the last defender as a central striker. He was blossoming as a goalscorer prior to the appointment of Julian Nagelsmann in the summer of 2019, scoring 50 goals in 93 Bundesliga appearances in the three seasons before 2019-20.

Nagelsmann, however, envisioned a shift that he believed could help take Werner’s game to the next level. “We’ve started him a bit deeper,” he explained in an interview with the official Bundesliga website earlier this season. “We don’t want him right on the last line because he needs a bit of a head start, a bit of tempo, in order to really show his pace on the pitch.

“When he’s on the last line, he often finds himself static when he needs to get going but with a bit of room in front of him, he can hit top speed. And from this deeper position, he’s much more involved in our build-up play and combinations. In the last few years, all his moments have come in transition, whereas now he has his moments in combination play, too.

“He’s having many more touches of the ball than in previous years and this new position has done his development good, playing in between the lines against teams who sit deep. That’s another trait he’ll need if he wants to be one of the best in Europe. There are a lot of teams who sit deep and defend deep against you and he needs that second way of being dangerous to opponents too, and he’s definitely developed that this year.”

Nagelsmann achieved the tactical tweak by lining up his Leipzig team in a fluid 4-4-2 system, with Werner nominally starting up front alongside Yussuf Poulsen or Patrik Schick but encouraged to drop off to link up with the midfielders, drift wide in search of space between opposition defenders, or to try to break the offside trap as circumstances dictated, varying his attacking movement.

Jose Mourinho found out about Werner’s improved combination play to his cost in February when Leipzig beat his Tottenham side 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie in north London. Faced with a deep-lying home defence, the striker dropped back, drifted infield from the left and clipped a delicate pass onto the chest of Konrad Laimer, whose control tempted Ben Davies into a mistimed challenge in the penalty area. Werner scored the penalty himself.

The clearest example of Werner’s blistering acceleration being maximised in a slightly more withdrawn role came against Borussia Monchengladbach in August. Early in the second half, Poulsen latches on to a floated pass forward and lays it back towards Werner. He gets to the ball first and has a clear path to goal but there’s a long way to go and Matthias Ginter has a significant head start:

Werner’s first touch is ambitious, knocking the ball far ahead into the space. But his speed across the ground ensures there’s no danger of being intercepted; he flies past Ginter, floundering from a standing start, so quickly that the Gladbach defender can’t even get close enough to attempt to foul him before he reaches the box, with Werner slotting a left-footed finish past Yann Sommer:

This goal, in Leipzig’s 5-0 win over Mainz in May, shows Werner’s starting position against a set defence. As his team-mates begin to work the ball from left to right, he jogs infield from the left between the opposition lines. His target is the pocket of space highlighted but he’s in no hurry:

He doesn’t need to sprint because his movement is intelligent and timed to perfection. Lukas Klostermann gets to the byline with the ball, crosses low and Werner finds himself unmarked at the near post to steer a low shot past Florian Muller with one touch:

Werner developed an easy understanding with Poulsen, who fulfilled the same kind of target man facilitator role in Leipzig’s attack that Olivier Giroud has done for much of his Chelsea career. Here, in a 2-1 away win over Benfica in the Champions League in September, the two could barely be closer together as Nordi Mukiele prepares to play a pass forward — but they have a shared plan:

Mukiele’s pass is rattled into the feet of Poulsen, who immediately lays it off and shields his defender. Werner doesn’t have much space but it’s enough; with his first touch, he whips a low shot under the legs of his marker, beyond Odysseas Vlachodimos and just inside the far post:

Werner can be remarkably single-minded in the final third  but he has also, at times, displayed great awareness of his team-mates. Here he is last season against Hertha Berlin, squaring the ball to give Poulsen an easy finish into an empty net in a situation where most strikers would have gone for goal themselves:

And here he is in another scoring position against Wolfsburg in the DFB Pokal in October, under less defensive pressure, passing up a good shooting chance because he knows he can give Emil Forsberg to his left an even better one:

Werner registered a career-high eight Bundesliga assists in 2019-20. His average for key passes per 90 minutes rose from 1.3 to 1.7 in the new role Nagelsmann carved out for him, while his shot-creating actions per 90 also increased from 2.9 to 3.8. By way of comparison, Kai Havertz averaged 4.3 shot-creating actions per 90 for Bayer Leverkusen.

Lampard considers both Werner and Tammy Abraham important components of the Chelsea team he is building and there is plenty of reason to believe that the two forwards could function well together — though starting both regularly would make his selection decisions from a wide range of midfield options even harder, particularly if Havertz follows his countryman to Stamford Bridge.

Werner could also play up front instead of Abraham. His farewell appearance for Leipzig, scoring both goals in a 2-1 away win against Augsburg on the final day of the Bundesliga season, showcased his ability to stretch an opposing defence as the focal point of attack.

For his first goal, he drifts in from the left as Amadou Haidara advances with the ball in midfield, having spotted that Felix Uduokhai has dropped slightly deeper than the rest of the Augsburg line:

Haidara spots the pass and Werner arcs his run to keep himself level with Uduokhai…

… and once he is through on goal, Werner takes the opportunity to employ his favourite finish in one-on-one situations, taking the ball round Tomas Koubek and tapping into the empty net:

For the second, he is standing on the shoulder of Uduokhai, ready to run into the space behind as Manchester City’s on-loan left-back Angelino prepares to launch a searching ball forward:

Werner controls the dropping ball brilliantly on the run and shows strength to hold off Uduokhai as he manoeuvres himself into a shooting position…

… he ends up with a tighter angle than is ideal but his low shot is still good enough to beat Koubek and nestle in the far corner:

It’s hard not to see him tormenting Premier League defences next season if Chelsea decide to deploy him through the middle — with or without Abraham.

---

Werner operating as a lone striker is not without its problems, however. The first is that playing him up front without Abraham or Giroud would make an already relatively small and aerially weak Chelsea side even more so. Standing at 5ft 11in, he is not short but neither is he a physical presence — of his 32 aerial duels in the Bundesliga in 2019-20, he won only eight.

Chelsea’s problems finding a way to competently defend set pieces have been well documented. Lampard’s current strategy is to have either Abraham or Giroud stand with Kurt Zouma on the edge of the six-yard box and attack the incoming ball from their zones while the rest of their team-mates mark specific men. It has not been a particularly effective solution to what might be an impossible problem with current personnel, and Werner would not help matters.

The other issue is that Werner’s link-up play, while improved under Nagelsmann, remains a work in progress. He is generally capable when things are kept simple; here, against Augsburg, he drops back into midfield to receive a pass from Haidara in what is clearly a rehearsed movement. Dayot Upamecano is running up the left touchline but the aim of the move is to shift possession towards the greater space on the right side of the pitch:

Werner controls the ball, protects it and makes the correct pass into the feet of Dani Olmo, who is able to progress and move the team forward:

But when things get a little more intricate, Werner’s technique can look a little clumsy. Here, against Koln, he shows to receive a ball to feet from Angelino, with a variety of passing options around him:

Angelino’s pass is firm and instead of redirecting it to Christopher Nkunku, Werner misjudges the contact and presents the ball to the opposition:

Here, against Augsburg, he shows to receive a pass out of defence from Ibrahima Konate, with the aim of laying it off to a team-mate and getting Leipzig moving towards the final third:

But instead, he shanks his attempted pass badly, looping the ball back over his own midfielders and into the feet of an opposition striker.

The deeper Werner drops, the less comfortable he looks. Here he is virtually on the halfway line against Fortuna Dusseldorf, shaping to receive a simple pass from Kevin Kampl:

He wants to play it back to Nkunku but instead plays it straight to Dusseldorf striker Steven Skrzybski, who had already begun to react to Werner’s body shape:

The most obvious alternative to playing Werner up front is to deploy him on the left, where his speed and instincts for attacking the penalty area with and without the ball could make him every bit as consistently dangerous for Chelsea as Raheem Sterling has been at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola.

Werner frequently drifts out to the left even when deployed as a central attacker, as part of his efforts to evade defensive attention. Here, as Klostermann emerges from a crowd of bodies with the ball in the final minutes of Leipzig’s 8-0 win over Mainz in November, Werner is pretty much as far wide on the left as you can get. Two more central team-mates have less ground to cover to reach the penalty area for any cross:

His speed changes that equation in a matter of seconds and by the time Klostermann is ready to cross, Werner is the logical option. He taps it in to complete his hat-trick:

Werner loves working with the ball at his feet from the left, too. Here he is in a 5-0 away win over Schalke in February, showing for a pass from Nkunku with the intent to turn and attack the box:

Nkunku’s pass finds him, he works himself into space for a shot on his right foot, and rifles the ball high over Alexander Nubel into the Schalke net:

Just as crucially, Werner is also capable of fulfilling the responsibilities of a traditional winger. Here, against Hannover, he decides to run Salif Sane towards the byline rather than cutting inside:

Once there, he clips a pinpoint low cross with his left foot across the six-yard box for Poulsen, who is left with the easiest of finishes:

Werner is also prepared to contribute towards the team’s defensive efforts as a left winger. Here he is in the opening minutes of the Champions League win against Benfica, chasing a surging Andre Almeida deep into the Leipzig half:

He harries Almeida almost up to his own corner flag, dispossesses the Benfica defender as he attempts to check back inside, and then clears the ball to a team-mate:

Werner could be a viable option for Chelsea on the left of a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1. The problem for Lampard is that Christian Pulisic has made the same position his own whenever fit in 2019-20, offers a very similar blend of speed, technique and work ethic, and did plenty in the final stretch of the season to suggest he is on a genuine superstar trajectory.

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Chelsea will go into next season with an embarrassment of attacking options, much of it boasting either elite European pedigree or world-class potential. Lampard will need to be creative and versatile in order to maximise his team’s attacking capabilities on the pitch and create the conditions for real chemistry to grow between his new additions and his young talents.

The balance — between defence and attack, between creation and control and of responsibility between the individual attackers themselves — will probably not be easy to strike. But these are good problems for Lampard to have and in Werner, he has a player capable of ripping through any defence from virtually anywhere on the pitch in seconds. This should be a fun ride.