Timo Werner’s Chelsea form has come under fire in his debut Premier League campaign – but is Frank Lampard failing to play to his strengths?
By this stage last season, the Germany international had scored 20 times in the Bundesliga for RB Leipzig. One year on, he’s managed just four in the Premier League for Chelsea. The mitigating factors are obvious – it is the 24-year-old’s first season in a new country and a supposedly tougher league – yet it’s safe to assume Frank Lampard had expected more from the £57.6-million man.
Blues fans have got to enjoy flashes of his quality – Werner’s brace and assist against Southampton on match-day five suggested a turning point after a slow start in west London. He followed that performance up with two more strikes in his next three games. It proved a false dawn, however; Werner hasn’t scored again since beating Sheffield United’s Aaron Ramsdale 11 games ago.
So, what’s going on? This is a player, after all, who scored 95 goals in 159 appearances for Leipzig. Is it a case of poor form, difficulties adapting to life in England, or is there something Chelsea are failing to spot? According to Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, who worked with Werner for two seasons during his time as Leipzig coach, the latter might be true.
‘I know Timo very well and I have seen him in situations where he was not good,’ the Austrian said this week. ‘Most of the time when I have seen this it is because of the reason that the game doesn’t fit to him. The team didn’t play a way he can bring his best on the pitch. He is definitely a player where you have to adapt your game to him. If you do this, he will give you everything you need from a striker.’
At Leipzig, there was little doubt who the team’s main goal threat was. Various systems were used – some which had Werner on the left wing, some which had him operating slightly deeper behind a target man, and others in which he was paired, typically alongside the hardworking Yussef Poulsen, in a front two. Invariably, though, these systems were all tailored to give Werner the best chance of hurting the opposition.
Take Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to Leipzig in last season’s Champions League round of 16, for example. Leading the first leg 1-0 – a Werner penalty – Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann shifted his star attacker from the more central role he’d enjoyed in the first tie, to the left wing for the second. Nagelsmann knew Jose Mourinho didn’t fully trust either of his right backs – Serge Aurier and Japhet Tanganga – and predicted the Premier League side would go on the front foot in search of goals. Werner repeatedly caused Spurs’ headaches on the counter-attack, teeing up a goal as Leipzig won 3-0.
There is none of this clarity of thought at Chelsea right now. Not only does Lampard not appear to know his best team, but is also struggling with how best to field the players he does select. Werner has been moved between centre forward to left wing – and once even started on the right for a Champions League visit from Krasnodar – with seemingly no rhyme or reason.
Meanwhile, Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham have been rotated almost randomly in the centre-forward role whenever Werner hasn’t been fielded there. The Frenchman has started five Premier League games as a lone marksman; Abraham eight. Without a clear gameplan, Lampard can’t hope to get the best out of any of his strikers, least of all the one who joined in the summer from a team with a strong sense of identity.
The Blues rank fourth in the Premier League for average possession – a stat Leipzig also regularly scored high for in the Bundesliga during Werner’s time there. But Lampard’s side are only 14th in the league when it comes to possession won in the final third and seventh in terms of pressing high up the pitch.
When it comes to quick turnovers and winning back the ball in dangerous areas, Chelsea are a world away from the football Werner is used to. A better fit, based on official Premier League stats, would have been Manchester United, Liverpool or Southampton – teams who look to win the ball back high, transition forward at pace, or both.
While there are undoubtedly ways Chelsea can help their young attacker find his best form, there is one more stat that perhaps tells us the most about Werner’s struggles so far this season. Behind Patrick Bamford (12), Chris Wood and Ollie Watkins (10 apiece), Werner has missed the most ‘big chances’ in the league this season, with nine clear-cut opportunities squandered.
Those who watched Werner frequently in Germany will be unsurprised by this final insight; the German is not a forward famed for his composure. Yet, Werner’s work rate, movement and pace mean other chances are never too far away. He needs patience now more than ever, but a clearer gameplan from Lampard wouldn’t hurt either.
