Man Utd urged to avoid signing 'completely talentless' transfer target

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 17 Dec 2023 17:16 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have been urged to avoid signing Timo Werner by German football commentator and pundit Marcel Reif.

Werner, 27, is set to leave RB Leipzig in January after being told to find a new club by the Bundesliga outfit.

The Germany international re-joined Leipzig last summer after a two-year stint at Chelsea, in which he struggled to adapt to Premier League football.

Werner did play a key role in the Blues’ Champions League triumph during his first season at Stamford Bridge, but his time in west London was ultimately a disappointment.

While he was impressive at Leipzig last year, Werner has fallen down the pecking order this campaign following the summer arrivals of Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko and Xavi Simons (loan).

The ex-Chelsea man has netted twice in 14 games in all competitions this year, and has only been included in a Bundesliga starting XI on two occasions in 2023-24.

As a result, he is expected to depart in January, with Man Utd and West Ham among the clubs reportedly interested in signing Werner.

However, they have been told to avoid purchasing the Leipzig star at all costs.

What has been said?

In quotes carried by TEAMTalk, Reif spoke to Sport Bild about Werner and was damning in his comments about the former Chelsea forward.

“This path to Chelsea was a complete turn into a dead end," Reif said. "He comes in, takes that one shot where he’s really free. The ball doesn’t bounce, there’s nothing unfortunate.

“A soccer player who has speed, who has the ability to shoot, tries to shoot at goal quite unchallenged – and hits the thing 15 metres over the goal.

“[Werner is] really completely talentless. I feel sorry for that in my heart.”

Man Utd’s current first-choice number nine, Rasmus Hojlund, has not scored a Premier League goal in 12 appearances in the competitions, although he did net five times in the Champions League group stage.