Key Takeaways
Timo Werner was on the brink of joining Liverpool but the Covid pandemic put pay to his signature.
Werner was also concerned by game time behind Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Despite mixed success at Chelsea, Werner finds himself on loan at Tottenham, where he is yet to hit the ground running.
Back in 2020, it was one of football's worst kept secrets that Liverpool admired Timo Werner. The RB Leipzig forward was pacey, agile, and often deadly in front of goal. However, following a mini-transfer saga that was halted as the world shut down, as well as the Germany international's fluctuating form since, it's a reasonable suggestion that the Reds really did dodge a bullet.
Ultimately, Liverpool went on to win a delayed Premier League title in the summer of 2020 and did not go back in for Werner, instead they signed Diogo Jota in September 2020, who has gone on to score more than 55 goals for the Merseyside club. Here's just how close the then-Champions League holders were to landing Werner's signature.
Bursting Onto the Scene With Stuttgart
Werner turned heads from the start of his career
Timo Werner's rise at Stuttgart, a club whose home ground he was born within walking distance of, was meteoric. During the 2012-13 season, he was promoted to the U19 team despite only being 16-years old. His involvement was merited though, and he scored 24 goals that season, with form rewarded by the Gold U17 Fritz Walter Medal.
His senior debut for Stuttgart followed, in the 2013-14 Europa League Qualifying stages. He was aged just 17, four months and 25 days, becoming the youngest player to ever play in an official match for Stuttgart. On his 18th birthday, Werner signed a professional contract until June 2018 with the club and went on to score 13 goals in 95 league appearances. During that time he became the youngest player to make 50 Bundesliga appearances in the competition's history.
With his rise thus far, it was no wonder that Werner moved on from Stuttgart as they were relegated - switching to newly-promoted RB Leipzig in a €10m deal in the summer of 2016. In his first season, he scored 21 times as his side finished second in the Bundesliga and qualified for the Champions League for the first time. The following two terms combined saw him score 40 goals and put his profile firmly on the wishlists of European giants.
In 2019, such was the trajectory of Werner, that renowned Bundesliga talent-snatching giants Bayern Munich registered their interest. However, just as a €30m deal was close to completion that summer, the behemoth club backed out. Seemingly, the club's big wigs weren't entirely sold on the star, and he eventually stayed at Leipzig - signing a four-year-deal with a €55m (£49.4m) release clause.
Covid Deters Liverpool Transfer
Phone calls with Klopp see line go dead amid pandemic
While Bayern pulled out of signing Werner, the 2019-20 season surely had them second-guessing themselves, as it ultimately saw Werner tally a personal best. Second only to Robert Lewandowski, Werner scored 28 and assisted eight in 34 Bundesliga games as his side finished third.
Undeterred by Bayern's caution, Liverpool saw the goals and performances and made contact with the pacey hitman in early 2020. In fact, according to reports in Germany, Werner spoke to Jurgen Klopp personally on the phone, and discussed what potential role he could play at Anfield. Initially, he wanted to move to Merseyside, yet was unsure about if he would play regularly considering the Reds' front three of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were in fine fettle of their own.
Klopp could not offer him any assurances, yet it was a real 'what if' scenario, as it seemed both parties understood that Werner could've done well under his compatriot at Liverpool. While the prospective murmurs continued for a slight time after, they were eventually muted when the Covid pandemic changed the dynamics within elite football entirely.
A curtailed season meant no lucrative pre-seasons, no matchday and broadcast income, plus, the value of commercial deals plummeted. It simply wasn't feasible for Liverpool to spend near enough £50m on a player Klopp wasn't entirely sure how to fit into his trophy-winning jigsaw. Therefore, while watching on from a distance, Liverpool withdrew more and more from Werner and the swirl of rumours as the likes of Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan all honed in.
Chelsea, RB homecoming and Loan to Tottenham
Werner hasn't reached the projected heights of yesteryear
After his highly covered rise and courtship from Europe's best, Timo Werner eventually moved to Chelsea. The then-Roman Abramovich-backed club could afford it and subsequently activated his £47.5 million release clause, giving him a five-year contract in the summer of 2020.
However, despite winning the 2020-21 Champions League, and the following Super Cup and Club World Cup, Werner's time in West London perhaps tailed back to Bayern's initial doubts. Granted, he was often played out of position - as his pace saw him stretched to the wing areas - yet when in front of goal, he was regularly lacking composure and fluffed a lot of easy chances. His strike rate sat at a meagre six in 35 games in his first PL season, and this was a number he'd not surpass as he ultimately tallied 23 goals in 89 all-competition outings.