Timo Werner has suffered from a notable fall from grace since his departure from the Bundesliga, though Thomas Tuchel has been urged not to give up on his misfiring compatriot just yet.
Namedropping Michael Jordan in reference to the German’s struggles up top, Jurgen Klinsmann waxed lyrical over the No.11 on ESPN FC (via football.london).
“You know, Michael Jordan said he missed more shots than he scored. And for Timo Werner it’s just like if you fail in moments it makes you only stronger. The kid is good,” the World Cup-winner said.
“The kid has a tremendous amount of drive and talent and he knows where the ball will fall in the box and he can also make things happen himself with his speed and going at people, so I totally have trust in Timo Werner.
“He will go through that stage and who knows, maybe he will score in the next game in the second leg or in the final of the Champions League. He was very young when he was 21 winning the Golden Boot at the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017.
“He scored almost 100 goals in the German Bundesliga and he’s only 25.
“The kid is good and the kid will prove it, but obviously he has to deal with the criticism when you miss a big chance, it’s just normal, like goalkeepers do as well when they make a mistake we are all over them.”
The former RB Leipzig star has had a difficult maiden season at Stamford Bridge, scoring only 11 goals across all competitions (albeit whilst also registering 12 assists).
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It’s a significant drop off from his 28-goal tally taken in the Bundesliga alone last term, though with Tuchel now holding the reins, one might reasonably predict a change of fortunes for the 25-year-old in the campaigns to come.
The temptation to cut losses at a club where patience is far from being a virtue will be considerable, but it would still be arguably far too soon for the Londoners to concede defeat with their £45m summer signing.