The potential loan move of RB Leipzig's forward, Timo Werner, to Tottenham is on the horizon.
Honestly, it's quite surprising.
Who is Timo Werner?
From 2016 to 2020, he dominated the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig before making a sudden move to Chelsea,
one of the prestigious clubs in the English Premier League (EPL).
However, he failed to adapt to the different tempo and style of the EPL compared to the Bundesliga,
leading to his return to the German league.
After returning to Leipzig, his first season was relatively decent,
but now he seems to be experiencing a recurrence of the struggles he faced during his time at Chelsea.
He appears to be falling behind candidates like Poulsen, Olmo, Simons, and Openda.
Bringing back a player who has experienced failure, especially in the EPL, is an inexplicable decision to me.
Werner's strengths and weaknesses are clear.
Firstly, his speed is a definite advantage.
When there's an opportunity to counter-attack against an opponent with an open backline, there are not many players as suitable as Werner in such situations.
His ability to bombard the Bundesliga during his time with RB Leipzig (2016-2020) was largely due to this quality. Given the characteristic of the Bundesliga, even lower-tier teams often attempt high pressing, and Werner, taking advantage of the naturally opening spaces, excelled in seizing counter-attacking opportunities by sprinting to the front lines.
He does have quite a few weaknesses.
Firstly, he often gets caught offside.
While being caught offside is inevitable for a fast-paced player, Werner's offside incidents were somewhat excessive in the EPL. Numerous offside situations in a single game meant missed scoring chances for the team.
In essence, this indicates that while he has quick movements, they may lack the necessary cleverness.
Moreover, his physicality is not particularly strong. This limits his ability to engage in plays beyond penetration, such as post-play or holding up the ball.
The most significant issue is undoubtedly his decision-making.
This problem became glaringly evident during his time at Chelsea.
Especially in the last season with Chelsea (2021-2022), where he participated in 21 games, he attempted only 28 shots and managed to score a mere 4 goals.
Tottenham's coach, Ange Postecoglou, has motivations for acquiring Werner that are not easy to comprehend.
Especially replacing Son Heung-min's position during the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations seems unreasonable.
The only conceivable possibility might be deploying Werner on the wings to exploit the backline,
creating more space for the forward, Richarlison.
Considering Solomon's current injury leaving a void on the wings, the intention could be to bring in an experienced player.
Wishing them luck, but honestly, it doesn't seem like this transfer will be particularly successful.
