The German frontman thinks that the Blues’ incoming record signing will add a new dimension to the Blues’ attack
Timo Werner has expressed his belief that Romelu Lukaku’s presence at Chelsea will help him make a bigger impact in the final third as the Inter striker closes in on a return to Stamford Bridge.
Goal has reported that Chelsea have reached an agreement to re-sign Lukaku from Inter for a club-record fee of £98 million ($135m), with the 28-year-old set to commit to a lucrative five-year contract.
Lukaku will be expected to slot straight into Thomas Tuchel’s lineup upon his arrival in west London, with it suggested that Werner’s playing time could be reduced as a result, but he is hopeful that they can both lead the Blues’ attack in 2021-22.
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What’s been said?
Werner says he played his best football when he had a target man to bounce off at RB Leipzig, who sold him to Chelsea for £47.5m ($66m) in June 2020, and he is confident that Lukaku can have a similarly positive impact on his game.
“He’s probably one of the best three strikers in the world at the moment,” The German forward told Sky Sports when quizzed on Lukaku. “There is no question about that. I don’t think we need to say too much about him. He’s a world-class striker who would benefit any team.
“I certainly think at Leipzig that it always helped me having a big striker alongside me. I think that’s always good because I’m not the biggest and when you play up front on your own, you always have the attention of one or two defenders.
“It’s a good new weapon to have in our game when you know that if you play a long ball, he will hold it up. And then the fast players around him can the set off – I think that’s good for any team.”
Lukaku & Werner compared
Lukaku failed to score in any of his 15 competitive outings in his first spell at Chelsea between 2011 and 2014, but went on to establish himself as one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League after being sold to Everton.
Manchester United then snapped up the Belgian for £75m ($104m) in 2017, and he hit 42 goals in 96 outings for the Red Devils, albeit without ever quite managing to convince supporters that he was good enough to be the club’s long-term No.9.
United ultimately decided to offload Lukaku to Inter at the end of the 2018-19 campaign, with Antonio Conte subsequently bringing the best out of him at San Siro, where he has found the net 64 times in 95 appearances while becoming a Serie A winner.
Werner, meanwhile, established himself among the most deadly marksmen in the Bundesliga during his four-year stint at Leipzig, but only managed to score 12 goals in his debut campaign with Chelsea.
The 25-year-old did also record 15 assists while playing over 50 games in all competitions, helping the Blues conquer the Champions League in the process, but he will hope to rediscover his best form in front of goal alongside Lukaku as Tuchel’s side target even more silverware in the new season.