Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea ready to cut losses with Timo Werner?

Chelsea could look to move out-of-form Timo Werner on in the summer as the club look to make space for signings.

Upon completing his transfer from RB Leipzig in 2020, Timo Werner was touted as one of European football’s hottest properties.

Chelsea fought off interest from a host of clubs including Liverpool, with Jürgen Klopp cursing his luck at missing out on the German attacker amid the coronavirus pandemic.

After sealing the signing, Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia described the acquisition as one that had “a rare mix of being young and exciting and yet established and proven”.

And she had good reason to believe so. In the season prior to arriving at Stamford Bridge, Werner scored 28 goals and supplied eight assists in just 34 appearances at a rate of 1.16 goal involvements per 90 minutes in the Bundesliga.

In the two seasons following his switch, the 26-year-old has notched a total of ten goals and nine assists in 56 matches at a ratio of 0.44 goal involvements per game.

Taking this into account, Timo Werner is the most likely within a group of possible departees to make way and allow for new signings, football.london understands.

Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and academy product Callum Hudson-Odoi are among the names listed who may exit to create space for new additions to Thomas Tuchel’s forward line.

Tuchel hasn’t settled on his favoured attacking trifecta this season – more out of necessity rather than choice – with Mason Mount and Kai Havertz the only two that have provided somewhat of a consistent output.

Where could Chelsea’s Timo Werner end up?

While the aforesaid report fails to suggest a potential landing spot for Timo Werner, the rumours are leaning toward a return to his homeland.

Therefore, the options are likely narrowed down to three options: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and potentially a reunion with former employers RB Leipzig.

Beginning with the former, Werner has got a pre-existing relationship with Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann from their time together at Leipzig.

Nagelsmann has alluded to the reasons why it hasn’t worked out for Werner at Chelsea before, suggesting being a cog in a machine as opposed to a star man may have impeded his impact.

This factor will be no different with the Bavarian giants and in conjunction with higher-ups at the club reportedly being divided on the signing, dampens the possibility of the move.

Dortmund are rumoured to be interested according to Goal, but the signing of RB Salzburg’s Karim Adeyemi as a replacement for Erling Haaland may spell the end of this.

The report goes on to suggest that Werner’s salary may also be an issue for the Black and Yellows, who are known to run a tight ship financially.

Chelsea’s ownership still being up in the air under a month before the opening of the summer transfer window makes it increasingly difficult to predict their potential operations, in effect leaving the likes of Werner in limbo regarding his whereabouts next season.