Arsenal legend Thierry Henry believes that Timo Werner flopped in his two-year spell at Chelsea because he didn't "feel the love".
The Germany international arrived in a £47.5million deal from RB Leipzig in 2020 after Chelsea activated his release clause following a remarkable return of 34 goals in 45 games in 2019-20, yet he failed to get anywhere near that number across two seasons at Stamford Bridge.
Since returning to his homeland with Leipzig this season, however, Werner has netted seven goals in 13 appearances, leading Henry to strongly believe that his impressive form is down to rediscovering his confidence.
Reflecting on Leipzig's win over Celtic on Tuesday, Henry told CBS Sports: "I will call it confidence. You have players who don't care if you put your arm around them. They will come, execute and leave. Then you have some players that need to feel the love. They need to feel maybe that they are going to play for 90 minutes.
"The best example is the second goal. First and foremost on the first control, Timo Werner would never have put that ball down at Chelsea, and then he would never have seen [Emil] Forsberg. He would have rushed it trying to do something, overthinking it and overdoing it.
"I saw it before, he was calm before and he is calm again. Maybe he would have shot because people said he can't score at Chelsea – it gives you confidence when you score again. Then I see him pass it with his left foot at the right time.
Why do you think Timo Werner struggled at Chelsea? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
"Sometimes you go to some places, they don't show you that love, I'm not saying he didn't have it, but if he didn't feel it like he felt it at Leipzig, then you aren't going to be at your best and you won't take the right decision."
Werner scored and assisted as Leipzig defeated Celtic 2-0 in Glasgow to move up to second in Group F with two games remaining, sitting only behind Real Madrid by four points, but it took the 26-year-old's tally to seven goals and four assists in 13 games in all competitions.
During his first campaign with Chelsea during 2020/21, Werner followed up 34 goals and 13 assists in 45 games for Leipzig with 12 goals and 15 assists in 52 games for the Blues.
In his final season in west London, the German recorded 11 goals and six assists across 37 fixtures, taking his tally across two seasons for Chelsea to 23 goals and 21 assists in 81 games by the time he departed this summer.
Arguably, those numbers aren’t horrendous. However, it was his Premier League tally that played the biggest part in Werner's struggles with the Blues, as he failed to hit double figures in each of his two seasons, with six and four goals scored, respectively.
He may have played his part in helping Chelsea win three trophies during his time at the club but Werner is widely regarded as a flop by many, yet his early season form with Leipzig has already shown what could have been for Chelsea if he had received that "love" and confidence under Thomas Tuchel.
