11 days and counting until Timo Werner's buyout clause expires, and still his destination is unknown. Liverpool are leading the race but in recent days, Chelsea have renewed their interest in the forward with the intention of snapping him up if the Reds can't.
Many Blues fans may question the need for Werner when they have three recognised forwards already in Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi; although one can expect the latter two to leave sooner rather than later. But for young Abraham, Werner's arrival could be seen as showing the club's lack of faith in him to lead the line.
But that's far from the case.
Abraham, 22, had been enjoying an impressive first season leading the line for Chelsea, bagging 15 goals before coronavirus ground football to a halt.
Werner has also been in red hot form throughout the season for RB Leipzig, scoring 25 Bundesliga goals - second only to Robert Lewandowski - and has catapulted his side almost single-handedly into the European places.
Timo Werner hit his 25th Bundesliga goal of the season as RB Leipzig won a cracking contest in Cologne ?
— Football on BT Sport ?? (@btsportfootball) June 2, 2020
Some quality goals from both sides last night! pic.twitter.com/9MQ5UynnZm
The signing of Werner would represent a signal of intent to both the Premier League and also their own squad. Chelsea's biggest problem this season has been not putting winnable games to bed and being clinical enough in the final third. And this has largely been due to the lack of goalscoring threat, aside from Abraham, in the starting XI.
The departure of club legend Eden Hazard last summer has obviously played a part, but the fact that Willian - who is likely to leave at the end of the month - and Jorginho are next on the scoring tally with just seven goals is telling.
Timo Werner is able to play through the middle but can also shift wider if required and adding that versatility to a likely forward line already containing Abraham, new signing Hakim Ziyech and a fully fit Christian Pulisic (we hope), would give manager Frank Lampard a multitude of options to break down sides.
A common problem this season for Chelsea, with Pulisic out through injury and the absence of a reliable back-up striker, has been a lack of pace in the side when in the final third or on the counter attack. Ziyech has hopefully solved part of that problem with his ability to drift inside and deliver killer set plays.
The quick and composed Werner would be able to address the other concerns and play anywhere across the front three in Lampard's favoured 4-2-1-3 formation. He could play wide or as second striker and provide effective service for Abraham, if he starts; or through the middle if Tammy is rested and they require a different approach from out wide.
So feasibly there is a world where they can easily play together but also provide cover for each other, if one is in need of a rest.
The other major plus point if Werner was to arrive would be that it would give Abraham a flavour of what is expected from a forward in European football. Abraham noticeably struggled in the big Champions League nights this season, scoring just twice and looking out of sorts towards the back end of the group stage matches.
Werner has fared better, scoring four and assisting twice and has significantly played one year more in the Champions League than the English forward. This extra season of precious European experience has given Werner that clinical instinct against the best teams - something that Abraham did struggle with at times this year.
This isn't to say that Tammy shouldn't play in these matches. It's more to push him, to expand his game and become more of a complete forward. He is after all, still young and needs to keep developing other areas of his game as his first team experience continues.
Lampard is the right coach to manage this dynamic, as he favours picking players on their training form and their eagerness to adapt to his tactical philosophy. But there is also a balance to strike between developing young players and challenging for trophies once again for the Blues; and the signing of Werner would arguably allow for both these aims to come to fruition.
Source : 90min