Chelsea's £45m mistake? How Timo Werner went from star to flop in 1 season

In the aftermath of Frank Lampard leading Chelsea to UEFA Champions League qualification, without signing any player in the 2 previous transfer windows, the legendary Blues player was backed to the hilt. In the 2020 summer transfer season, in came Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Timo Werner, and later on Edouard Mendy. In a combined splurge totalling £272m, all the players came in with the mandate to perform.

Timo Werner's Performance & Statistics for Chelsea in 2020/21

Especially RB Leipzig forward, Timo Werner who joined for £45m. The German forward was signed to solve a lack of goals upfront. The season before, Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud were the strikers on the Blues side and it was a consensus that more striking options were needed. Thus, the man who set the Bundesliga ablaze with 78 goals in just 127 matches stretched over 4 seasons was brought in with the full expectation that he would finish the goals for Lampard's side. 

However, the pacy forward never really got going. What many thought was just a slow start due to adjusting to the team grew to become a niggling problem as Werner lost chance after chance or would keep getting caught offside. Timo Werner's performance, and that of his compatriot Kai Havertz, was one of the sticks used to flog Frank Lampard. 

Ultimately, the young Chelsea manager got the sack and in came Thomas Tuchel, fresh from leading Paris Saint-Germain to the UEFA Champions League final the previous season. His high-octane, expansive and detailed style of play was touted as just what Timo Werner needed to thrive. After giving him a run in the starting 11, the £45m signing's profligate finishing still did not leave him. Though he was productive in creating assists for his teammates, Werner was not finding the goalposts himself. He ended the season with 12 goals from 52 matches, his lowest tally since the 2016/17 season. 

Timo Werner & Romelu Lukaku in 2021/22

Despite winning the Champions League in the 2020/21 season, the Blues were all out for another striker to bolster their ranks. Chelsea scored the least amount of goals amongst England's top 6 the previous season, despite having a good defensive unit. There was a lengthy pursuit of Borussia Dortmund's striking sensation, Erling Haaland, but the 21-year-old ultimately proved too expensive for the European champions. 

The Blues then returned to a familiar name in Romelu Lukaku. The 28-year-old Belgian had just led Inter Milan to their first Serie A title in over a decade, scoring 30 goals in just 44 appearances for the Italians during his final season. Overall, the bulky striker had scored 64 times in 95 games whilst also forming a deadly partnership with Lautaro Martinez.  So far Lukaku has scored 4 goals in 4 games for Chelsea. 

The Belgian quick start to life again at Stamford Bridge is a testament to the huge number of chances that the club creates. Timo Werner's profligacy is his major undoing and with Lukaku gobbling up the chances and scoring the goals, it looks like Chelsea's £45m move for Timo Werner was a miss.