Despite Tottenham Hotspur extending Timo Werner’s loan deal from RB Leipzig in May after he initially joined Ange Postecoglou’s side last January, he has shown little to no improvement in his displays.
It seems like the Tottenham forward, who failed to pull up any trees at Chelsea previously simply lacks what it takes to become a hit in the Premier League.
In theory, a player with bags of pace and an eye for goal like Timo Werner should make for a sure-fire success in England. But in practice, the German international has looked out of his depth at both Chelsea and Spurs.
Ange Postecoglou has urged Werner to improve behind the scenes but so far, there are no signs of a resurgence from the Champions League winner.
Werner has not lived up to Tottenham’s expectations, despite being able to offer Postecoglou the option of fielding him as either a striker or a winger.
As the 28-year-old continues to underwhelm in a Lilywhites shirt, perhaps some would wonder whether Tottenham are willing to cut ties with him and let him return to RB Leipzig this month.
Ange Postecoglou confirms Tottenham won’t let Timo Werner go
Ange Postecoglou was keen on Werner’s stay, who is considered “popular” within the squad as well.
However, it looks like Werner lacks any confidence in a Spurs shirt and even as an impact substitute, he has struggled to showcase his quality.
Ahead of Tottenham’s clash against Tamworth in the FA Cup, Ange Postecoglou confirmed that due to the injury crisis his side find themselves in, they have no intention to let Werner leave this month.
Postecoglou said via Football.London: “Yeah [Werner will stay at Tottenham until the end of the season]. The last thing I want is to lose another player at the moment.”
“The other night after Rodrigo [Bentancur] went off, we had 11 first-team players out. We’re not letting anyone go at this point.”
Ange Postecoglou was also asked how Werner’ reacted after he deemed the speedster’s display in Spurs’ 1-1 draw against Rangers as “unacceptable.”
“It was feedback, it was what I obviously felt that day. I think he’s made an impact, even at the weekend when he came on, he’s got certain attributes that can hurt any team.”
“You saw that at the weekend, he’s got a real turn of pace. We’ve needed that in games at times, particularly late in games.”
Why sending Timo Werner back to RB Leipzig is “not quite as easy”
For Tottenham to send Werner back to Leipzig is far from an easy task as the Bundesliga side will have to approve of such a deal.
Journalist Alasdair Gold explained: “We have to kind of touch on Timo Werner as well. It’s one of those. Everyone is saying ‘send him back, send him back.’ We must reiterate that is not how these loans work.”
Furthermore, Gold revealed that Werner is one of RB Leipzig’s highest-earners, which makes it a difficult decision for them to just happily accept his return.
“Tottenham would have to convince RB Leipzig to allow him to come back and he is one of their highest earners, there’s no justification for Leipzig to say ‘oh yeah send him back and we will pay him’. It’s not going to work like that. Yeah it’s not quite as easy as just sending him back.”
“I get the frustration, he is definitely a player who can be frustrating but unfortunately contracts are a bit more difficult.”
Werner is being criticised and Ange Postecoglou’s confirmation should push him to prove his critics wrong at Tottenham and step up until the remainder of the campaign.
The Spurs attacker must have returned to the Premier League with a point to prove.
But up until now, Werner’s starting place has been questioned at Tottenham.
However, considering Ange Postecoglou and the Tottenham dressing room admire the experienced wide forward, he should back himself to change all the negative opinions surrounding him.