Why Chelsea beat Liverpool to Timo Werner transfer

Chelsea have today announced that they’ve completed the transfer of Timo Werner, who will join from RB Leipzig next season.

The Germany international looks an exciting addition to Frank Lampard’s squad, but they didn’t always look the most likely next destination for him this summer.

As explained in an interesting report from Sky Sports, Liverpool also held talks over signing Werner, with Jurgen Klopp clearly also a big fan of the player.

However, the report notes that Liverpool were not able to guarantee Werner regular playing time in the same way that Chelsea must have been able to.

It’s clear the Blues are lacking quality up front this season, with youngster Tammy Abraham showing some promise but still not quite looking ready to be an automatic starter week in, week out.

Timo Werner’s transfer to Chelsea has been confirmed

“I would go on record saying that there is probably one gay or bi person in every football team” – BIG claim from a Premier League footballer! .

At Liverpool, by contrast, Klopp has the excellent Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane to choose from up front, so it seems likely Werner would have had to accept a bit more time on the bench.

Given the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Sky Sports suggest this put LFC off spending big on a player they might not use in every game.

Chelsea, however, have money to burn after being under a transfer ban last summer, according to the report, and it makes sense that they’d be more willing to make this big investment in the 24-year-old.

To everyone at @ChelseaFC :
I’m incredibly happy to be joining the Blues next season! It feels like the right step for me and I am delighted to become a part of Chelsea FC. Really looking forward to playing for such a fantastic and historic club!
See you soon Chelsea fans! ? pic.twitter.com/WLcagJCHWt

— Timo Werner (@TimoWerner) June 18, 2020