For a long time during Thursday’s FA Cup clash against Luton Town, Timo Werner looked just as shocked as many of his Chelsea team-mates when he heard the news that Roman Abramovich would sell the club.
The announcement came just an hour before kick-off at Kenilworth Road and it looked like one surprise exit would soon be followed by another, as first-half goals from Reece Burke and Harry Cornnick gave the hosts a 2-1 half-time lead over the reigning European and world champions. .
However, Werner turned things around in the fifth round after the break, tapping Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s long ball to score his first goal in eight games before setting up Romelu Lukaku for the winner in stoppage time.
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“Timo played very well,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel told reporters after the game. “I’m happy about that and the fact that Romelu got his goal. That’s why we left them on the pitch.”
“These games, right now, are the most important games for them, even if they think they should play this game or that game.”
It was certainly an important match for Werner. The 25-year-old has played fewer minutes than any other senior Chelsea forward this season, so this is a rare opportunity to shine.
For most of his time in the game he really struggled to make an impact, but his goal changed everything.
“I’m happy that I made my goals and assists,” he told BBC Sport after the game. “I try to help the team as much as I can to win games and that’s what we did today.”
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Whether his performances in the second half could also prove to be a turning point in his Chelsea career remains to be seen.
The £47.5m signing from RB Leipzig is becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of playing time and has been weighing his options ahead of the summer transfer window.
Werner’s agent will meet with Chelsea management in the next few weeks to better understand Tuchel’s plans for their client before deciding on his next move.
If those talks don’t end well, the forward may seriously consider a move to Borussia Dortmund, who are interested in bringing Werner back to Germany, which would certainly appeal to a player who GOAL understands has struggled to settle in London.
Of course, Werner’s £250,000-a-week salary could be a drag, given it’s highly unlikely Dortmund would be willing to spend that kind of money to match his Chelsea salary.
Any deal could depend on Dortmund’s seriousness in hunting for Karim Adeyemi.
Should their talks with RB Salzburg fail, a move for Werner becomes much more likely, but the transfer may require Chelsea to pay part of his salary if the forward refuses to take a significant pay cut.
So even if Werner proved to be the winner at Luton, there are still big question marks over his future at Stamford Bridge.
After all, in 76 appearances with Chelsea, he still only contributed 19 goals and 18 assists.
Those statistics can justify Tuchel to play him regularly.
Werner was one of Abramovich’s last big signings and there is still a chance he could soon follow the Russian tycoon away from the club.
