According
to one agent, Chelsea have just signed a £100m player for £50m.
Timo Werner is one of the best forwards in the world and in normal
circumstances he would be moving to England for a Premier League record fee.
But these are not normal circumstances.
The pandemic and a relatively low release clause mean Chelsea have been able
to pull off a deal they had little chance of completing just a few months
ago.
Last summer, Werner almost joined Bayern Munich for €30m (£27m). Not
everyone at Bayern was convinced they should buy him though and he ended up
signing a contract extension at RB Leipzig with a €50m (£45m) release clause
which ran out on Monday.
It was an open secret in Germany this would be his final season in Leipzig.
The Red Bull organisation's football business strategy is to develop young
players and sell them on and it has paid off handsomely with Werner. They
signed him from Stuttgart for €10m (£9m) and they are making a €40m (£36m)
profit four years later.
And what a four years it has been.
Werner has scored 93 times and counting and it is not just Bayern and
Chelsea who have been trying to sign him. Up until the pandemic, it was
almost certain he would be moving to Liverpool.
Werner looked set for Liverpool…so why
didn't it happen?
Werner had spoken to Jurgen Klopp on the telephone earlier this year and he
had been impressed by what he had heard.
In television interviews in February, he could scarcely have been more
complimentary about Klopp and Liverpool. He said Klopp was the best manager
in the world and Liverpool were the best side in the world.
He told his agent that as far as he was concerned, he wanted to move to a
Champions League club where he could play regularly. At Liverpool, he would
have been guaranteed Champions League football and crucially he was willing
to fight for a place in a side which already included Mohamed Salah, Sadio
Mane and Roberto Firmino.
Everything was set for Werner to move to Liverpool this summer until the
pandemic changed everything.
Football shutting down and games being played behind closed doors meant
Liverpool's revenues were forecast to drop by about £100m in a year.
Liverpool's owners believed it would be irresponsible to spend £50m on a
player in the current economic climate and their stance was backed by Klopp.
Liverpool still wanted Werner though, and were willing to negotiate a lower
fee with Leipzig but the German club wanted the release clause paid in full.
That is not surprising considering there has been a buzz around Werner ever
since he became a teenager and started scoring prolifically for Stuttgart's
age group sides. Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona have been watching
his progress closely for the past decade and this year Manchester United,
Real Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan have all also held talks about signing
him.
'Abramovich making Chelsea great again'
Chelsea, though, are the only club who put their money on the table.
United were interested but their priority signing this summer is Jadon
Sancho. The Spanish and Italian clubs would not have hesitated to pay the
release fee in normal circumstances, but they have other targets they
believe they can sign this summer using swap deals to bring prices down to
more affordable levels.
None of that matters as far as Chelsea and their fans are concerned. They
have got their man and it looks like Chelsea are going places again. Frank
Lampard was able to convince Werner Chelsea was the right club for him to
take the next step in his career.
When you factor in Werner's wages of £200,000 a week, Chelsea are investing
a total of £100m on Werner. After two windows with no signings, Chelsea have
made a real statement of intent in 2020. A £34m deal has already been agreed
for Hakim Ziyech to join from Ajax next month and Chelsea also still want
Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea have won more trophies in English football than anyone else since
Roman Abramovich bought the club 17 years ago, but questions were being
asked about the Russian billionaire's commitment as Manchester City and
Liverpool established themselves as the two most dominant forces in English
football.
Those questions are now being answered. Like all good businessmen,
Abramovich has spotted an opportunity in the market to make Chelsea great
again.
It's all a far cry from just two years ago when the Home Office delayed
renewing his visa and £1bn plans to redevelop Stamford Bridge were put on
hold.
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