Time to worry about Werner? The sorry stats behind €60m star’s Chelsea struggles

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 4 min read

When Chelsea beat Liverpool to the €60 million signing of RB Leipzig attacker Timo Werner, it seemed like the Blues had completed a massive coup in their quest to return to the top of English football.

In a summer which saw manager Frank Lampard splash out almost €250m on new signings, Werner was expected to be the cherry on top of the cake.

The 24-year-old was considered arguably Germany’s most exciting young talent having plundered 34 goals in 45 games last season.

However, just like his €70m Germany international team-mate Kai Havertz, Werner has struggled badly during his first half-season in England.

Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal saw Werner go 10 games in all competitions without scoring, his longest goal drought for four years and three months. In that game he had no shots on target and only two touches inside the opposition penalty box.

In total, he has only scored four Premier League goals this season in 15 matches. His efficiency in taking chances has not been up to scratch, with his Expected Goals (xG) 6.73.

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In Europe, he also has failed to score from open play in his six Champions League matches with all three of his goals coming from the penalty spot.

Nearly all of his key statistics have declined compared to last season. He is making 0.86 key passes per 90 minutes this term, compared to 1.76 last campaign. He is having 2.1 shots a game (down from 3.4) and 0.75 crosses (down from 2).

“I have to say it is tougher than I thought. The contact here is harder than in Germany, it is what I expected but not like this. The beginning was very good, now I’m struggling a little bit.Timo Werner

The latter statistic is especially concerning when one considers that Werner has been starting mostly from the left wing this season.

He is also attempting less dribbles a game; 3.1 per 90 minutes down from 3.8.

His one positive is that despite this, he has still managed four assists this season – which puts him on a similar level to 2019/20 on average. He also has improved his defensive work by making more tackles (1.78 a game compared to 1.06) and more air challenges.

However, it is attacking output and goals that Chelsea decided to spend so much money on him.

And his recent struggles have certainly played their part in the Blues losing three of their last four Premier League matches, a sequence which has put them in danger of falling out of the title race.

Werner himself admitted last week that he has struggled to adapt to the Premier League but that he is confident that he will come good.

“The Premier League is a little bit different to my old league that I used to play in,” he said.

“I have to say it is tougher than I thought. The contact here is harder than in Germany, it is what I expected but not like this. The beginning was very good, now a little bit after a lot of games I don’t know if its normal but I’m struggling a little bit.

“There are lot of games at the moment and I think there’s some chances that I’ve missed two or three weeks ago that were not the best thing.

“But I think when you are new to a country and league it’s always a little bit hard to adapt and it should be no excuse. I think I’ll adapt well.”

Werner’s next chance to end his drought will come on Monday when Chelsea face in-form Aston Villa.