Timo Werner's time at RB Leipzig could be coming to an end
- Chuck Smith
- Jan 4, 2019
- 2 min read
Timo Werner has hit a career crossroads at RB Leipzig.
The star striker has reportedly been given an ultimatum by the club and will either have to extend his current deal or start to find a new home this summer.
Leipzig is doing what is best for its club. Werner is a prized and valuable asset. If Leipzig allows Werner to enter the 2019-2020 season on its roster, it will have lost much of the leverage and bargaining power that it has right now.
Potential destinations
Werner has no shortage of suitors as Bayern Munich, Liverpool, AC Milan, and Chelsea have all been linked to the pacey forward. It may be with Bayern, however, where Werner's heart wants him to be.
Geographic reasons aside, Werner would be surrounded by a bevy of young, German internationals in Bavaria. Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Niklas Sule are among the players considered to be in the next generation of German stars. In addition to those players, Die Mannschaft veterans Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Mats Hummels, and Jerome Boateng could also still be a part of Bayern next season (though there is some doubt with both Hummels and Boateng).
The roadblock for Werner at Bayern would be Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker who has shown no signs of slowing down. Werner, however, is versatile enough to play a wing position and has the pace and awareness to potentially be one of the players vying to replace Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
Timing, though, could be the only deterrent holding Werner from Bayern. With Lewandowski still having two years left on his contract and the club fully committed to him for that period, Werner may not want to risk spending two years of his prime as a rotational wing player and sometimes striker.
Chelsea or AC Milan would likely offer Werner the best opportunity to encamp himself at striker right away, but even that is no sure thing. Same for Liverpool. The Reds front line is deadly and would be difficult for any player to penetrate.
Would staying with Leipzig be Werner's best move?
Werner could do worse.
The list of suitors above all have significant risk for a player like Werner. he could obviously look to Mario Gotze's own situation with Bayern as a cautionary tale of going to a club with so much top-end talent. Similarly, the Premier League teams seem to love nothing more than acquiring loads of talent, only to have a large portion of it stew on the bench for years.
It will not be an easy call for Werner as he tries to map out how and where to best spend the next chapter of his career. The bottom line for a player with his talent is that he needs to be on the field. Even a rotational spot could potentially stunt his development and prevent him from reaching the vast potential he holds.
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