Werner Is Far From The Finished Article – Robbie Fowler

RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner is not good enough for Liverpool, Robbie Fowler has said.

Fowler recently insisted that the Chelsea-bound striker is far from the finished article.

According to him, he is not too bothered that Liverpool missed out on the German because he does not believe he would’ve sealed a spot in Klopp’s starting XI ahead of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane.

He added that Werner is a talented player no doubt but he is not a huge fan.

His words, “I’ve heard the noise ­surrounding Timo Werner in recent weeks – but I’m not a big fan,”

“I realise he’s a talented player, he has moments of real brilliance in matches that underline his quality, but I stand by this: is Werner up to the standard of Liverpool’s current front three? Not for me. Obviously my opinion will be put to the test next season if he does complete a move to Chelsea.

“There has been so much rumour around his intended destination for months now, with my former club at the heart of that, but most of the other big names in European football have been linked to him.

“I’ve also seen the meltdown from some Liverpool fans when they ­realised he’s probably not leaving RB Leipzig for Anfield after all. It makes it seem as though he’s a Marco van Basten, a world-class player who would walk into any side.

“For the life of me, I don’t know why. I’ve watched him a fair few times and there are things about his game I like and admire, but does he influence games consistently enough? Not for me. Does he match up to the players you are signing him to challenge and replace? Not at Liverpool. Maybe at Chelsea.”

“I’ve heard so many people ­complaining about Liverpool owners not splashing the cash, not diving in on ­Werner when he’s a ‘steal’ at £52m. Is he really, though?

“This is the reality – all those other clubs, Barcelona, Liverpool, Juventus, Real Madrid, Man City and United have looked at him and thought, in the current market, his release clause fee is too high. How do we know that? Because otherwise, they would have activated it.

“To be honest, I see a situation where Chelsea saw perhaps the only circumstance in which they would sign Werner. That they had to pay the ­release fee to get him – because other clubs wouldn’t.

“In short, they had to pay a massive premium to make him come to their club. We’ve seen it before with clubs struggling a tiny bit – they pay over the odds to get players. City had to do that for a while, Chelsea themselves too. At times, Liverpool have done that over the past two decades. It rarely worked for them.”