Tottenham Hotspur are pushing recruitment chiefs to sign a forward, as manager Ange Postecoglou reportedly makes a decision on the out-of-form Timo Werner.
Werner criticised for lacklustre start to the Spurs season
Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange moved to secure an extension on Werner's loan deal in the summer, which includes a more generous option to buy the forward permanently for around £8.5 million.
However, Postecoglou and co have not exactly been rewarded for their show of faith in the £165,000-per-week attacker, who is one of the highest earners at N17.
Werner has misfired on many occasions so far this season, with the former Chelsea star criticised for his lack of cutting edge in the final third, spurning many gaping opportunities.
Werner's end product has been called "poor" so far, and the 28-year-old is yet to score a single goal in all competitions. Postecoglou has publicly defended the ex-RB Leipzig star, who once scored 34 goals and bagged 13 assists in all competitions for the Bundesliga side back in 2019/2020, with the Australian admitting that Werner's confidence is low right now.
"He is definitely down in confidence you can see that," said Postecoglou on Werner's form after Spurs beat AZ Alkmaar 1-0 in the Europa League.
"It is a difficult thing to get out of sometimes. It can feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders. All we can do is try to support him and keep trying to get him to a place where he feels a little bit more confident with certain things.
"He has played a great ball in for Mikey to score early and if that goes in, that’s an assist for him it gives him a lift but it doesn’t happen. It happened at Ferencvaros as well, he played a great cross that Will Lankshear just missed but these things happen. He needs to find a way out of it because for us in those positions we need players to make an impact. I thought in a couple of moments he lacked some self-belief that we need to try to instil in him somehow."
Reports have even claimed that Tottenham are targeting a new winger ahead of January, and now GiveMeSport have shared an update on Werner's situation in north London.
Tottenham push recruitment chiefs to sign forward with Werner likely to go
According to their information, Tottenham are pushing their recruitment department to identify a new winger who they could sign to replace Werner, resulting in the forward being "on track" to leave at the end of this season.
Postecoglou has apparently decided to "set his sights" on signing a fresh attacking option, with the tactician personally in search of more firepower and Werner "set to return" to Leipzig next summer.
There is still time for Werner to change the minds of Postecoglou and Spurs officials, and it is clear by the former's past statements that he does rate Werner as a player.
“He’s a quality player," said Postecoglou on Werner's overall ability earlier this year.
"I think he’s proven at this level, and as he gets stronger and fitter and understands our game a little bit better, I think he’ll become even more effective and I know there’s goals in him as well that will come for Tottenham.”