It was only two months ago that Timo Werner felt the overwhelming love from Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge. He adored the fans' passion when chanting his name, despite the lack of goalscoring consistency. Supporters always gave him the benefit of the doubt and admired his willingness to persevere, no matter the circumstances.
A couple of months later and fans are going wild on social media and this time without the usual optimism towards the striker. It seems like Werner is on his way to receiving the Romelu Lukaku treatment and like the Belgian, it started off with an interview.
My oh my. Sometimes I wonder if Chelsea players should even speak to the press at this point. Everything they say will receive some sort of scrutiny. I may not agree with Timo Werner's statement, however, I don't think fans should turn on him just yet. But even if they do, he has the perfect escape plan.
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After helping to secure Germany's victory against Israel at the weekend, Werner spoke out on his current form. "I'm a striker and always want to score. Things aren't going the way I'd like at Chelsea, so it's all the better that things are going well here under Hansi Flick," he said.
"I really enjoy playing football, no matter where I'm playing. There are differences in the style of play between football at Chelsea and here. Maybe the one at the national team suits me better. Here, I always have scoring chances, I can score goals. I feel very comfortable here."
The response sounds rather familiar, don't you agree? Romelu Lukaku's interview with Sky Italia which was released in December highlighted his thoughts on the playing style at Chelsea. The backlash from his comments brought out the ugly side of some Chelsea fans. They called for his exit, criticised his playing style, and began to scrutinise the Belgian for every single minute of football that he played. There were many more factors that contributed to Lukaku's fallout with the fans, but Timo Werner is now walking on a similarly thin line.
I hate to say it, but some fans are being rather dramatic in regards to this situation. If Lukaku's interview had not taken place prior, would Werner's choice of words have this much of a negative response? The fact is, Werner is scoring for Germany and is struggling at Chelsea. That is all. He is allowed to believe that the difference in playing style is a factor in the differences in success. Given the right style and set-up, Werner is an absolute baller with a killer finish. His RB Leipzig statistics tell that exact narrative.
On the other hand, I'd be cautious in solely alluding to playing style as a factor in his goalscoring success. Maybe the fact that Germany have faced teams such as Israel, Armenia, and Liechtenstein is worth noting. Not exactly the world's highest ranked teams.
Luckily for the German, he has been given a gift from Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel. A gift that will come in handy in case the Stamford Bridge faithful decide to treat him differently. If the price is right, the Blues will NOT stand in his way to leave this summer. According to Sport1 Journalist, Patrick Berger, Timo Werner and his advisor are looking to leave Chelsea anyway.
Thomas Tuchel and the club will not stand in his way if the price is above £33 million. His agent is already understood to be talking to several clubs, one of whom is Dortmund. Which seems like the perfect escape.
The Bundesliga is where the 25-year-old seemed to excel best. I can imagine the perfect homecoming for Werner in a yellow and black jersey. He will be missed but he can be replaced.
