In the early morning of January 10th, Beijing time, Premier League Tottenham Hotspur officially announced that RB Leipzig forward Werner has joined the team on loan. He will wear the No. 16 jersey and play for Tottenham for the remaining games of this season. It is worth mentioning that the contract for the German Golden Reconnaissance Plane includes an optional buyout clause of 17 million euros. Spurs have the option of making the loan move permanent this summer.
The 27-year-old Werner has been reduced to a marginal player in Leipzig this season. He has only scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 14 appearances and 4 starts. Under such circumstances, it is normal for him to choose to leave the team to seek more playing opportunities. Werner is no stranger to the city of London. In the summer of 2020, he joined Chelsea from Leipzig for 53 million euros, and the latter regarded him as a frontline leader. However, in the two seasons at Chelsea, although Werner worked very hard, there was still a certain gap between his 23 goals and 21 assists in 89 games and his worth of 53 million euros. And the picture of him repeatedly wasting opportunities in the game is even more impressive. So in the summer of 2022, Chelsea lost patience and sent him back to RB Leipzig, and the transfer fee was significantly reduced to 20 million euros.
However, Werner, who returned to Leipzig, has not regained his former form of killing everyone in the Bundesliga. Last season, he only had 16 goals and 5 assists in 40 games. This season, he has completely become the fifth forward in the team, and Leipzig is eager to kick him out. In this case, Tottenham Hotspur extended an olive branch and allowed Werner to return to London.
It’s not surprising that Tottenham chose Werner. After losing the British star Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, who had previously played as a winger, began to play as a center. Apart from the young Brennan Johnson, head coach Postkoglu did not have any experienced speed players at hand. . The arrival of Werner just made up for this shortcoming.
The 27-year-old Werner can serve as a center or winger. He has amazing speed and good foot skills, and his passing and shooting are actually pretty good. In his two seasons at Chelsea, Werner wasted a lot of opportunities, but his active running coverage and high press were still impressive. This technical feature is expected to make Tottenham coach Postkoglu, who emphasizes pressing in the frontcourt, very fond of it.
Werner's arrival also gives Tottenham captain Son Heung-min a right-hand man. Prior to this, although Son Heung-min mainly played center, due to Tottenham's lack of frontcourt speed, he often had to pull to the wing or midfield to break through with the ball. After Werner joins, Son Heung-min can ambush in the penalty area with peace of mind, and the wing breakthrough can be handed over to Werner. The latter's speed and breakthrough can minimize Son Heung-min's defensive pressure, allowing him to display his ability to deliver a fatal blow in front of the goal.
From this point of view, Tottenham's signing of Werner was not a sudden decision, but a decision made after careful consideration. As for what kind of performance the German golden reconnaissance aircraft can perform at White Hart Lane, we can only wait and see.
