Getty Timo Werner celebrates with his Chelsea teammates.
Barcelona‘s “priority” in the January transfer window is to bring in a new striker on loan with Chelsea’s Germany international Timo Werner emerging as an option.
The Catalans have lost Sergio Aguero and Martin Braithwaite for long spells and are also expected to cut Luuk de Jong’s loan from Sevilla short following Ronald Koeman’s departure as coach.
Werner is a target along with Manchester United’s Edinson Cavani and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, as reported by Luis F. Rojo at Marca. Barca’s financial situation is, of course, an issue and means the club want to “bring in someone on loan for whom only the signing fee or a minimum price for the loan is to be paid.”
Rojo adds that Barcelona are therefore targeting players “of established quality who are not playing regularly for their clubs and may be willing to leave for the Camp Nou.” Barcelona targeted Werner before he joined the Blues in 2020.
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Could Werner Leave Chelsea?
There’s no doubt that Werner has falled out of favor at Chelsea since the arrival in the summer of Romelu Lukaku. The striker’s only started four Premier League games and has just one goal so far in England’s top flight.
Former Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas was asked for his opinion on the striker in a recent Q&A on Twitter and said he thinks the attacker looks “fed up” at Stamford Bridge.
He makes so many good runs but sometimes they either don’t see him or don’t play the pass. Looks fed up sometimes 😂
Werner is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury and has not been called up for Germany’s World Cup qualifiers in November. Coach Thomas Tuchel has said he’s expecting the striker back after the current international break.
The attacker has spoken about his future and told Express he is not happy with his game time at Chelsea, as reported by Metro.
“The last few weeks have been difficult at Chelsea. After many years, I was suddenly a little behind and had to fight my way again. A career always goes up and down, never steadily upwards. But you learn to deal with it,” he said. “Of course, I can’t be satisfied if I don’t play. Of course, I want to be a regular in a big team. But I’m not saying that if I don’t start 10 or 15 games before Christmas, I really want to leave. Things happen relatively quickly in football. I have to look at the bigger picture to make my decision.”
Werner Keen On La Liga?
Werner’s comment give few clues as to whether he could be tempted away from the European champions, although a loan move could offer the chance to get back on track after a tough time in west London.
The 25-year-old previously admitted in 2020, before he left RB Leipzig for Chelsea, that it might be “fun” to play in Spain, as reported by Diario AS.
“I can imagine playing abroad at some point, but there’s no specific place will go. I’m open to everything,” he said. When I was on holiday in America, English football was on all the time. But there are also very well-known and big teams in Spain where it would for sure be fun to play.”
President Joan Laporta has said Barca could make as many as three signings in January, but the club would have to offload players first to make room in the squad and comply with La Liga’s salary cap.
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