The War for Timo Werner is Heating Up

Chuck Smith
Mar 4, 2019
3 min read

RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner has been battling an illness of late which has limited his availability to the Bundesliga side. Prior to the recent string of games where he has been sick, Werner had been a dynamic force totaling 13 goals and three assists in 25 games across all competitions this season. The off-the-field action surrounding Werner, however, has been far more active than the player himself, though.

With Bayern Munich and Liverpool hotly in pursuit of the 23-year-old talent, Leipzig is beginning to get a little irritated that its crown jewel's name is being bandied about on the transfer market and also being referenced as foregone conclusion that he'll leave the Red Bull Arena this summer.

Sporting director and current coach Ralf Rangnick took to the media to express his doubt that Werner is going anywhere this summer, but it sure does look like Werner has his own eyes set on joining the Bavarians.

Leipzig is even going outside of its normal financial barriers to try and keep Werner, but the potential Werner-to-Bayern move may not even make that option. If the action should go outside of Germany, however, Liverpool is lurking and hoping to add even more blinding speed to its already dangerous attack. Jurgen Klopp is said to be a huge admirer of the striker and would no doubt be able to deploy him either out wide or centrally to maximize the speedster's pace and goal-scoring ability.

The Inevitable

Werner is a phenomenal talent and has qualities that could translate to any number of systems, but the narrative that is out there seems to be that he wants to go to Bayern and that the front office for Die Roten would not exactly mind having a young, speedy, and attacking German talent onboard.

RB Leizpig will surely not want to wait until the summer of 2020 to let Werner walk for free (in fact, Rangnick has already stated that isn't happening), so it would appear that a suitor who is willing to put up €50m-€60m for Werner would likely be able to land him this summer -- pending the player's approval.

Given what has been reported about a mutual fondness of Bayern for Werner and Werner for Bayern, it would seem that Werner heading to Bayern is destined to occur. For its part, Bayern seems poised to have a very expensive summer with or without Werner.

Make no mistake, though,..short of landing Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Kai Havertz, Bayern would like nothing better than to procure Germany's top striker as he enters his prime.

The Potential Aftermath

A departure for Werner -- whether to Bayern, Liverpool, Juventus, or anywhere else -- would certainly leave a hole in Leipzig. If there is anything that Leipzig can do, however, it is develop young talent. This is not to say, they can easily replace Werner -- they can't -- but the fees generated from his transfer will absolutely be used to procure and develop more young talent, which is what Leipzig does best.

As for Werner, a move to Liverpool or Juventus would represent risk and it is fair to ask if Werner can afford that kind of hazard at this stage of his career? Bayern would likely be considered the safest of the moves, but even in Bavaria, the looming figure of Robert Lewandowski is entrenched at striker. Could Werner move outside, while also being the understudy to Lewandowski -- and still be effective? I think so, but it certainly is no sure thing.

Werner's mental resolve would be tested with a move to Bayern, but the steely-eyed striker will no doubt look to pave his own way at Germany's most powerful club. All he has ever done is succeed and now it is time to do it on a bigger stage.