Former Chelsea and Liverpool defender Glen Johnson believes that Blues striker Timo Werner would benefit massively from playing under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
The Germany forward had an outstanding spell with Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig between 2016 and 2020, scoring 95 goals in 159 and forcing himself onto the radars of a number of Europe’s biggest hitters.
Indeed, Liverpool were strongly linked with Werner, who scored 34 goals in 47 outings in his final season in Germany.
However, it was Chelsea who ended up landing the forward in a £47.5million deal in the summer of 2020.
Things have not gone well for Werner though, with the forward unable to translate his form to England.
The 26-year-old has netted only 10 goals in 56 games for the Blues. But Johnson believes Klopp could restore Werner’s confidence on Merseyside.
“He’s got a lot to offer. Just at Chelsea, from day one, he’s looked super, super low on confidence,” Johnson told bettingodds.com (via The Express).
“Maybe someone like Klopp would make him smile and enjoy his football. If that was the case then I think he’s got a lot to offer. And the way that Liverpool play then he’s going to get a lot of goalscoring opportunities, he’s going to be fast on the break, so, yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“I think a lot of people will be shocked but I don’t think it would actually surprise me. If Klopp can get him happy and smiling and confident then you’re going to have a good player on your hands.”
Werner move highly unlikely
The chances of Timo Werner moving to Liverpool are pretty much slim and none.
The forward prefers to play off the left or centrally but the Reds are well covered in those positions.
For starters, there is no way the Germany international replaces Luis Diaz on the left, while Darwin Nunez has now been given the chance to become the club’s latest top-quality No.9.
And with Mo Salah the undisputed best right-sided forward in European football, Werner will just find himself watching on from the bench.
In turn, that is hardly likely to get Werner’s confidence levels back to what they were at Leipzig.
The likelihood is, that if things do not rapidly improve at Chelsea, Werner will probably head back to his homeland to resurrect his career.