Chelsea forward Timo Werner has made a surprising return move to RB Leipzig after two seasons in London, the clubs confirmed.
According to ESPN, the German international’s move will cost around €30 million ($30.6 million) as he returns to Leipzig, where he spent four seasons before moving to Chelsea in a £47.5 million move in 2020.
Despite winning the Champions League with Chelsea in 2020-21, the 26-year-old has struggled at Stamford Bridge with only 10 goals in 56 appearances over the last two years. Meanwhile, reports around England suggest that Werner may have fallen out of favor with manager Thomas Tuchel despite the departure of forward Romelu Lukaku potentially clearing the way for playing time in a World Cup year.
In four seasons with Leipzig, Werner rose to stardom with 78 goals in 127 appearances. His breakout season in 2019-20 aligned with a historic Leipzig campaign. As he was named in the Bundesliga team of the season with 28 goals in 34 games, Leipzig would go on an unprecedented run to finish runner-up in the Bundesliga while also reaching the Champions League semifinal, where it lost to Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Werner left the club on poor terms, departing before the Champions League quarterfinal summer restart during a season interrupted by the pandemic in order to give himself more time to find his preseason footing with Chelsea.
Now, Werner will return to a Leipzig side in flux, having barely qualified for the Champions League with a fourth-place finish while reaching the semifinals of the Europa League.
