Timo Werner running out of time to convince Tuchel at Chelsea
“What is wrong with Timo Werner?” This must have been the question on the lips of several Chelsea fans following their team's heavy defeat to Brentford at home in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Blues were humiliated 4-1 at Stamford Bridge after a surprise collapse in the second half against the Bees.
It was completely unlike Thomas Tuchel’s side, and nothing was more worrying than the fact that Chelsea were a shambles up front.
The attacking trio of Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Werner was toothless, but it was the performance of the latter that raised the most eyebrows.
Timo Werner might suit playing for Germany better than Chelsea 👀 https://t.co/EFFTpgYy7W
Werner draws blank against Brentford
Timo Werner has struggled since joining Chelsea a year and a half ago from RB Leipzig, and he still looks far from his best, with just one goal in 15 Premier League games this season.
The Germany international was once again out of his depths on Saturday against Brentford and was horrible in front of goal.
The 26-year-old was presented with a glorious opportunity to double Chelsea’s lead moments after Antonio Rudiger had put them in front. However, he fluffed his lines, as he has done several times in the last 15 months.
That costly miss allowed the Bees to get back into the game. In his 64 minutes on the pitch, Werner’s work rate was evident but so was his profligacy, and that remains a huge cause for concern.
Timo Werner was bad last year but at least he was getting in positions to score with his movement.
This year he’s barely even getting in those positions. 2 years are up now and he doesn’t have my support anymore. Time to get rid. https://t.co/kLCyanBVE2
Werner running out of time to convince the Chelsea faithful
Chelsea are not a club that is usually patient with underperforming players, and that has been evident in Romelu Lukaku’s relegation to the bench.
The Belgian forward is the Blues’ most-expensive signing, and yet he rarely starts games these days. If Werner’s form does not improve, he could be joining Lukaku on the bench very soon.
The German has had several opportunities to prove his worth, and fans and coaches are beginning to lose patience with him.
"Do we wish for more goals? Yes. Does he wish for more goals? Yes. Concerned? That would mean we focus on the lack of goals but we focus on the goals,” Tuchel said of Werner a week ago, as quoted by SI.com.
"He should keep his head up because he should trust his instincts. In his career, he has done nothing else but scoring. He needs to keep focusing on scoring because this is what he is and used to do. This is what he needs to do.
"Are we happy when he misses his chances? No. Is it about quality? No. It is about confidence and momentum, about trusting his instincts more and not overthinking it.”
Werner was bought to score goals, but so far he has failed to do that. His quality is undoubted, but he is running out of time to convince at the Blues, and his latest performance against Brentford didn’t do him any good either.