RB Leipzig have decided that Timo Werner is free to leave the club and that could now pave the way for the former Chelsea forward to return to the Premier League, 90min understands.
Werner made his name at Leipzig after joining the newly promoted club ahead of their first ever Bundesliga campaign in 2016, aged just 20. He would go on to establish himself as one of Germany’s most-feared forwards, netting 28 goals in 34 games in 2019/20 before a £47.5m move to Chelsea.
But Werner’s spell at Stamford Bridge didn’t go as planned. He helped Chelsea win the Champions League in 2021, but just ten Premier League goals across two seasons wasn’t the return the Blues hoped for and Leipzig ended up re-signing the player in 2022 at barely half what they sold him for.
Sadly for Werner, now 27, it hasn’t kickstarted his career how he would have wanted. Nine goals last season was his lowest Bundesliga tally since the 2015/16 season with Stuttgart, while the opening months of 2023/24 have seen him struggle for game time after slipping out of favour.
Werner has managed a total of 203 minutes across eight league appearances so far this year, struggling to stand out in a Leipzig forward line which recruited Benjamin Sesko, Lois Openda and loanee Xavi Simons this summer.
Timo Werner struggled to justify his £47.5m price tag at Chelsea / Visionhaus/GettyImages
Leipzig sporting director Rouven Schroder recently suggested that the club are open to parting ways with Werner, saying: “Timo Werner is a part of a team that has to face competition. He’s going through a difficult phase, we support him. It’s not always all sunshine and roses.”
Asked whether a January exit could be on the cards for Werner, Schroder added: “We will have players who have something else in mind. We will face that. Quite openly, very clearly. If someone has the idea that they want to do something different, then we will deal with it.”
With Leipzig ready to let him move elsewhere, 90min understands that several Premier League clubs have been contacted as potential destinations. Specifically, a return to London looks like it could be possible, with Fulham and Crystal Palace each receptive so far – both are interested in a loan.
West Ham is another option. The Hammers, who can offer Europa League football and look a safe bet to reach the competition’s knockout stages, are also monitoring the situation and have ruled nothing out at this stage as the January transfer windows comes into view.
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