3 reasons why Timo Werner fits Tottenham

Although Manchester United were linked to Timo Werner, another top-four Premier League contender has acquired the RB Leipzig forward, with Tottenham bringing in the talented German on loan.

Spurs will also have a 15 million pound option to buy Werner at the end of the season, should the 27-year-old perform satisfactorily in North London.

Werner didn’t have the best go-around in the Premier League last time at Chelsea and hasn’t exactly been impressive since returning to Leipzig, but here are three reasons why he is a great fit for Tottenham.

They don’t need a true striker

Tottenham are playing a system under Ange Postecoglou that is all about positional flexibility, high pressure, speed, and versatility in the attack.

This style of football is fluid and free-flowing, which suits Timo Werner well. He excelled in a similar system at RB Leipzig, which is what led Chelsea to invest heavily in him. Other elite clubs like Real Madrid were interested, too.

Werner is not a true striker, which is what Chelsea tried to peg him as. He doesn’t like the ball being played into feet, he’s not the best in those tight spaces, and his link-up play is also more suited working passes from out-to-in like a winger.

Tottenham have Son Heung-min up top and love making use of a variety of different skill-sets on the wings. Son isn’t an out-and-out 9 either, though he has more of those attributes than Werner.

So Werner can fill-in this role if needed, but, mostly, he can be a wide goal threat, teaming up with Son while benefiting greatly from James Maddison’s playmaking.

All about that pressure and pace

Speed kills. Everyone knows how important raw speed can be in the modern game, with many pundits often exclaiming that certain players don’t have the pace or strength to match the athleticism of the Premier League.

Werner is clearly a high-octane, elite athlete. He has track speed, running 100m in 11.11 seconds. At one point, he was the fastest forward in the Bundesliga, which is something Postecoglou can make full use of at Tottenham.

Postecoglou plays some of the most attractive, aggressive football in the English top flight, which is what Werner is used to.

His best period at Leipzig came with Julian Nagelsmann, whose pressing is some of the most fabled in football as a Ralf Rangnick predecessor in the Red Bull system.

Werner is willing and able to make big plays defensively high up the pitch, winning the ball and creating quick, clear-cut goal-scoring chances for his teammates.

Perhaps more motivated to succeed in England after the way his spell at Chelsea, which included a Champions League trophy, ended, Werner will work incredibly hard for his teammates at Tottenham.

His big year with Leipzig

It’s easy to forget how prolific of a goal-scorer Timo Werner was at his best in the Bundesliga, even though it is important to note that he isn’t a pure scorer or a true 9.

In that 2019/20 season, Werner scored 28 goals for RB Leipzig, which was actually the second time in his career he scored more than 20 goals in the traditional, 34-game Bundesliga season (the least matches of any top-five league).

Werner exploded because of the amazing work current Chelsea man Christopher Nkunku put in as one of European football’s biggest breakout stars, the main playmaker in Leipzig.

With Tottenham, Werner can have that kind of player behind him with a healthy James Maddison, who was a Premier League Player of the Season candidate before getting injured.

Maddison and Werner can be a Batman and Robin duo, secret weapons to Tottenham’s success under Postecoglou.

Further, Werner had eight assists that season for Leipzig and seven the year before in the Bundesliga. He can create chances, too, which is an aspect of his game that will help the others, such as Richarlison and the iconic Son at the 9.