Timo Werner has played just nine minutes for Chelsea since Romelu Lukaku made his second debut for the club against Arsenal
The effusive praise for Romelu Lukaku kept coming from Thomas Tuchel during his post-match press conference.
Lukaku has struck four goals in his opening four matches after returning to his boyhood club. There was the opener against Arsenal; a brace at the weekend against Aston Villa; the winner against Zenit on Tuesday. The Belgium international has made it all look so simply and so effortless.
And that is in stark contrast to the man he has replaced in the Chelsea starting XI: Timo Werner. Signed from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2020 for £50million, the German arrived with the reputation as one of European football’s elite goal scorers. Unfortunately, that has been eroded during his time with the Blues.
There were goals last term – 12 in all competitions – but only four since the turn of the year. It’s rather damning that Lukaku has matched that total inside his first month back at Stamford Bridge.
Werner was given ample opportunity that others weren’t to play his way into goalscoring form last term. He made 24 appearances under Tuchel, racked up more than 1800 minutes of action. Still, there was no turnaround for the German, whose raw pace is an undoubted threat behind defences but simply no longer enough to keep him in the side.
It’s why as soon as Lukaku was available for selection, he came into the side. Werner started the UEFA Super Cup against Villarreal in Belfast and the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace but has featured for just nine minutes in the last four.
Werner had appeared to while on international duty. He netted in three consecutive games for Germany, albeit against Liechtenstein, Armenia, and Iceland. He’s not had that goalscoring momentum behind him for some time. Yet Tuchel opted to go with others options against Aston Villa and then Zenit.
Lukaku started both. Hakim Ziyech too. Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, meanwhile, each had a turn in the side. But Werner was restricted to late cameos. As harsh as it may be, the 25-year-old appears to be fifth in the pecking order, and that is with Christian Pulisic currently out due to injury.
As a result, it’s no real surprise a story emerged linking Werner with a move next summer to Borussia Dortmund, who will be on the lookout for a replacement for Erling Haaland.
Before that point, though, there is almost a full season to play. And the challenge for Werner is to first force his way back into the side and to then stay there. That will not be easy and several aspects of his game will need to improve if he’s to become a regular starter ahead of the likes of Havertz, Mount, Pulisic, and Ziyech.
Werner will not give up. That much we know. Even at his lowest ebb last term, he still put in the work, still made countless off-the-ball runs. His effort couldn’t be questioned.
However, Werner will not oust Lukaku from the Chelsea side. It simply won’t happen. And the sight of the German undertaking a post-game warm down on Tuesday night while Lukaku conducted post-match interviews, man-of-the-match award in hand, was a rather emphatic reminder of that point.
He may still have a role to play under Tuchel, though. Not the one Chelsea spent £50m on Werner to fulfill, but more of a supporting part. He will step into the side as and when required – potentially even against top-level opponents who play a high line – yet will more often than not find himself among the substitutes. At least until next summer.