Why Chelsea should DUMP Werner to sign Haaland

20 Jul 2021 09:39 BST
5 min read

Timo Werner: I couldn’t go on doing my thing at Chelsea — © ProShots

It's fair to say that Erling Haaland to Chelsea is this summer's dragged out transfer rumour.

Just like Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona, and Paul Pogba to Manchester United before it, the move has seems destined to happen at some stage, but has also been described as "mission impossible" by some sources.

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David de Gea's move to Real Madrid never materialised, and Chelsea fans will be fearful that a similar fate could happen to Borussia Dortmund's star striker.

With his contract stipulating a release clause of around €75 million next summer - the amount varies from source to source - competition for his signature will be fierce by the time 2022 comes around. That's exactly why Chelsea are determined to seal the deal before that can happen.

It means they will have to pay around double the price they would next year, but to avoid competition from other clubs, they deem it worth the risk.

However, the move seems to have hit a stumbling block. Enter Timo Werner.

With Dortmund's asking price apparently slightly out of reach, Chelsea need to sell before they can sign. It's why talented central defenders Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi have both left on permanent deals, and why Werner could be sold after just one year at the club.

Whether that's as part of the Haaland move, as a player-plus-cash deal, or as simply a straight sale to another club to drum up the money for the Norwegian striker is up for debate, but one thing's for sure, Chelsea could sell Werner this summer.

According to SkySports in Germany, the Blues are interested in the possibility of including him in a move for Haaland, but nothing has been finalised. The only question is, would dumping Werner for Haaland be a good idea?

Why using Werner as a makeweight is a great idea

To sell a player you signed for £47.5m just one year ago highlights poor advanced planning, but almost nobody could have predicted Werner's sudden lack of form in England.

Off the back of scoring 34 goals and assisting 12 in all competitions in 2019/20, Werner was expected to light up the Premier League. Many Chelsea fans believed he would end his first season as the league's top goal-scorer, and even help fire Chelsea to a title challenge. However, less than 12 months later those thoughts couldn't be further from the truth.

He netted just six Premier League goals in his opening campaign, which was the same amount as Tammy Abraham, despite playing over 1,500 more league minutes than the Englishman. Furthermore, his 0.21 league goals per 90 was less than Kurt Zouma's 0.23 and was the same as both Stuart Dallas and James Ward-Prowse.

In addition to this, he underperformed his xG by the largest amount of any player in the English top flight. According to xG, he should've scored just over 13 goals - a huge 7.43 more than his actual total.

However, especially under Thomas Tuchel, Werner was a useful outlet. His runs in behind, although quite often mistimed, were dangerous and potent, and several wins, against Manchester City in particular, wouldn't have been possible without his electric pace on the break.

He also added 12 assists in all competitions, and with 24 goal contributions (in all competitions), he was Chelsea's most productive player, but it could've been so much more. The Blues were one of three clubs who didn't have a single player score eight or more league goals last term (Fulham and Wolves were the others), and goal-scoring was a major problem, with Werner the most obvious culprit.

Why Chelsea should offload Werner to get Haaland

Quite simply, Haaland solves all of Chelsea's problems. They need an out-and-out goal-scorer; that's Haaland down to a tee. He doesn't get involved in build-up too often, he just scores goals.

With the likes of Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, and Hakim Ziyech, among others, floating around, Chelsea don't need a forward who comes deep, like Harry Kane, they need someone on the last line, ready to pounce.

Haaland excels in behind, with his frightening pace and physical power, but is also capable of consistently scoring inside the box against a deep block, seen by his outrageous acrobatic effort against Schalke last season, or simple tap-ins by being in the right place, at the right time.

With 40 Bundesliga goals in just 38 starts, and 20 Champions League goals in 20 starts, Haaland has proven that he is prolific against the very best, and is the exact player that Chelsea need to seriously fight Manchester City, Liverpool and potentially even Man Utd for the Premier League title next year.

Would Werner accept a move back to Germany?

You would have to assume so. The 25-year-old was one of the Bundesliga's best players during his time at RB Leipzig and relishes playing against the high lines that German clubs often employ.

After struggling for form in England, he needs to regain his confidence to reignite the flame that was so evidently shown in 2019/20. He's still a top player, but may need a fresh start to show the footballing world his talents again.

Despite being a favourite amongst Chelsea players and fans for his light-hearted energy, as well as his threat in behind, most of the Blues faithful would surely accept losing the German if it meant Haaland was secured.