Chelsea transfer news: RB Leipzig sign Timo Werner from Chelsea – “Happy to be back”

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This article was originally published on August 2, but was updated on August 8 and August 9 with new information. 

Chelsea striker Timo Werner has completed his transfer to RB Leipzig. The striker initially confirmed his Chelsea departure on Tuesday afternoon. Soon after, Leipzig also confirmed. The striker will join on a permanent transfer worth an initial €20 million, plus performance-based add-ons that could see the deal grow to €30 million. Werner has signed a contract until 2026.

@ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/ak5cSXiqbR

— Timo Werner (@TimoWerner) August 9, 2022

This means the striker, who remains RB Leipzig’s second most expensive sale ever, could return as the club’s record transfer fee, surpassing the €29.75m the club spent on Naby Keita in 2016 and more than the €22.2m they spent on Werner when they signed him the first time from Stuttgart in 2016, once all bonuses are met. 

“I am very happy to be back at RB Leipzig,” Werner said in a club statement. “I had a great time here between 2016 and 2020 in which we set some big benchmarks as a brand new Bundesliga team. It was an honor to leave the club as the record goalscorer. That is now the past; I am now looking forward to the future because just like myself, the club has moved forward in the last two years.” Added technical director Christopher Vivell: “Timo is an incredible forward who has attributes that will add to our attack. His speed and finishing ability are excellent and will advance our attacking play and will make us less predictable.” 

Flop or unfortunate circumstances? Werner’s time at Chelsea

While some Chelsea fans will be sad to see Werner leave the club, even more would be forgiven for still trying to grasp why the Germany international never seemed to hit top form at Stamford Bridge. And when we look at the player’s stats over the course of his time at Leipzig and Chelsea we do see a notable dip. For example, with 93 goals and 40 assists in 158 games for Leipzig, Werner averaged an excellent return of 0.96 goals and assists per 90 minutes. However, at Chelsea that average per match has dropped to 0.65, following just 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 games for the English club. However, whether or not that is Werner’s fault is still up for debate. 

While the Germany international’s individual stats have taken something of a nosedive in London, his diminishing returns in front of goal seem to run in parallel with Kai Havertz and Romelu Lukaku’s notable struggles to score or create goals with ease for Chelsea too. Indeed, since Werner arrived at Stamford Bridge, fans would be hard pressed to name a single forward that has thrived for the club. As such, while the stats suggest one thing, it remains to be seen whether Werner simply wasn’t good enough for Chelsea or was just one in a number of examples that suggested the club failed to get the most out of their attacking talents. 

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