Timo Werner in a recent interview with Daily Mail spoke up about his future at Chelsea. He has some legitimate concerns about his game time at Chelsea. The addition of Raheem Sterling to the attack must have played a part in aggravating these concerns for Werner. However, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel retaliated with a simple message: players wishing to play for Chelsea must earn their game time in the pre-season.
When asked whether he is happy at Chelsea, Werner said that he can be happy anywhere. He just wants game time to qualify and be in good shape for the German team in time for the world cup. In his own words:
“I could be happy everywhere. It is clear I want to play more and I should play more to first be in good shape for the World Cup and also to have a chance to play at the World Cup.”
Werner also admitted that he hasn’t spoken to the manager about this yet and said:
“The manager [Tuchel] always has different ideas, different thoughts and what you need in different games. In many games I was not in his thoughts so I try to change that. It is not different to last season, it was the same when Romelu came. We had big, big competition. It’s still the same.”
Werner had a fantastic season with RB Leipzig in the 2019 season. He scored 34 goals in 45 appearances for the team in the 2019/20 season. This caught the eyes of many teams across Europe. However, since his arrival to Chelsea, he has struggled to find his rhythm and luck. The arrival of Romelu Lukaku last summer led to immense competition in the starting line up for forwards at Chelsea. Moreover, Thomas Tuchel mostly started Havertz and Lukaku over Werner last season.
Thomas Tuchel’s response
Speaking to reporters post the pre-season match at Charlotte, Tuchel admitted his surprise atpre-season this comment. Tuchel feels that the players should be focused on showing their quality in the pre-season to better the chances of their selection. Speaking to the reporters Tuchel said:
“I’m surprised, I would be very happy as a young guy having a contract at Chelsea Football Club. I would be one of the happiest people on the planet. He needs to earn his game time. Show quality, take your place and defend your place. I would be one of the happiest people on the planet having a contract with Chelsea. If he said this, I do not understand”
Werner missed his chance to feature against Charlotte due to a hamstring injury. Tuchel further added that they didn’t want to take the risk ahead of the friendlies and the new season.
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