AFTER years of relative frugality in the transfer market, Bayern Munich finally went big this summer.
More than €130m was spent in an effort to reinforce the Bavarian side’s domestic dominance, with the club’s transfer record shattered by the €80m arrival of defender Lucas Hernandez – a figure which could soon seem comparatively paltry if the €120m option to buy is exercised on Philippe Coutinho’s loan from Barcelona.
But when the Bundesliga action returns after the international break, Bayern could find themselves tormented by the one man they missed out on.
With just one year remaining on his RB Leipzig contract, it was widely expected that German international forward Timo Werner would be among the incoming cluster at the Allianz Arena this summer. But no deal was struck and, instead, the 23-year-old renewed his terms with Leipzig, tying his future to the Red Bull Arena until 2023 in the second week of the new season.
15 – Timo #Werner was directly involved in a league high 15 goals in his last 11 #Bundesliga appearances (10 goals, 5 assists), including his first-ever hat-trick in professional football. Speed. @RBLeipzig_EN pic.twitter.com/NjTaCoKYNW
— OptaFranz (@OptaFranz) September 2, 2019
"I'm glad that I signed with RB Leipzig and thus extended my contract,” Werner said. “Of course, this process has been going on for a very long time, but I really wanted to be completely sure that I could take the next steps in the development of this club. And for the right decisions you just need a little longer. Now I can fully concentrate on playing with our team as successful a season as possible."
The speculation surrounding his future certainly hasn’t adversely affected Werner’s performances early in the 2019/20 campaign. With five goals from the first three Bundesliga games of the season, the former Stuttgart youngster looks better than ever, combining his trademark pace and cool finishing with a renewed directness and sense of urgency in the final third.
As one of their primary transfer targets for some years now, there is likely little about Werner’s game that will surprise Bayern when they head to the Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening. But, as recent performances evidence, knowing what he is going to do and stopping him from doing it are two very different tasks.
Ever since his emergence as Stuttgart’s youngest ever first-team player as a 17-year-old in 2013, Werner has been regarded as a prospect of elite potential. And his progress since joining RB Leipzig three years ago has been marked, returning 21, 21 and 19 goals in each of his full seasons with the club.
But so far this season, Werner has elevated his game to new levels. In his most recent outing, a 3-1 demolition of Borussia Monchengladbach in which he scored all three of RB Leipzig’s goals, he was simply unplayable.
A partnership honed over the last three years, Werner and Yussuf Poulsen have grown to know each other’s games inside-out. The tall, powerful Dane is the ideal foil for the pacey German, and Gladbach couldn’t cope with their slick link play. Poulsen would run channels to create space centrally for his partner, or drop deep to receive and hold up the ball, waiting for the perfect moment to release the former Stuttgart star.
Manuel Neuer: "Of course, it's great that Timo Werner joins the national team with such a great form. But when we face them in the league, he can hold back. (laughs)" #DieMannschaft #GERNED pic.twitter.com/ydVBNP2kX4
— Home Bayern (@_HomeBayern) September 3, 2019
The first of Werner’s treble at Borussia-Park was a clever run and neat finish after being fed exquisitely by Emil Forsberg. His third saw him pounce on a defensive mix-up to race clear and slot home in stoppage time. It is the second goal of Werner’s hat-trick versus Gladbach that will be worrying Bayern defenders most in their pre-game video-analysis sessions in the coming days, though.
A prodded ball from inside the RB Leipzig half is laid off by Poulsen, seemingly to nobody, 40 yards from goal. Then, bursting in from the left, arrives Werner, accelerating to breath-taking speed in the blink of any eye. His first touch takes him away from one Gladbach defender, his next sees him streak past from two more. One on one with goalkeeper Yann Sommer, he opens out his shoulders and calmly rolls the ball into the bottom corner with his left foot.
It was a goal of awe-inspiring athleticism – the pace to break clear; the strength and balance to see off all challenges – dead-eye precision, and Cristiano Ronaldo-like singlemindedness when a sight of goal was glimpsed. It showcased all the attributes that marked Werner out as a special talent some years ago, which have now been refined and refocused.
And it is not just Saturday’s meeting between Bayern and RB Leipzig that could see the champions regret their failure to sign Werner this summer; under Julian Nagelsmann, the Red Bull-owned outfit appear a genuine threat to the Bavarians’ throne this season, a title charge Werner will be spearheading.
The chances are Werner will still, someday, end up at the Allianz Arena, with rumours of his new contract including an eminently affordable buyout clause. But with every game he continues to line up for RB Leipzig, he is reminding his suitors of what they are missing.
