Chelsea and Liverpool were strong contenders to sign top German striker Timo Werner.
Werner has been in outstanding form for RB Leipzig, and has bagged 25 goals in 29 Bundesliga games this season. Reports have confirmed that Chelsea have offered a £200,000-a-week contract to Werner, in a move to beat Liverpool to the signing of the highly-rated striker.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had been in talks with Werner and Werner was keen on a move to Anfield, but it was Chelsea who went ahead to trigger his £49m release clause which was set to expire on June 15.
According to reports, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had to admit to Werner back in April that financial restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic might limit the club’s transfer spending this summer, which led to his decision to tilt towards Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard lured Timo to the club with the promise of him being the club’s top striker, while also revealing how he’d fit into the Blues system of play and assured of quality signings that will help bolster his squad.
Just a few days ago, before the news of Chelsea triggering Timo Werner’s release clause, Lampard revealed that he doesn’t want his side to be seen as a development squad, but rather a good combination of youth and experience.
He told the official Chelsea website: “Along the way, it’s been easy to cast your eye at the younger players coming into the team, but I also think some of the performances by the more experienced players in the team – the likes of Kovacic, Jorginho, Willian – I don’t have to name them all, but you can go through the squad and there’s been some real big plusses out of it.
“I don’t want to dwell on it, though, because my next job is to look ahead. “I don’t want us to be a development team, where people talk about our Academy players coming through. I want us to be a team that’s looking to bridge the gap going upwards.”