RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner will be out Bundesliga soon and will likely skip the Champions League leg of his German side. Reports from Germany indicated that the 24-year-old is eager to complete his transfer to Chelsea and is set to finalize with Blues boss Frank Lampard this week.
Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann confirmed last week that Werner is unlikely to return next season, the team manager alluding to the agreement between the Germany international and Chelsea.
According to The Daily Mail, the Leipzig's ace move to Stamford Bridge will be made official anytime this week and Lampard is expected to announce the player's arrival. It is understood, however, that Werner will continue with his club commitment until the Bundesliga season is over.
The last games in the German top-flight league will be played in the last week of June so the new Blues member will likely head to England around July.
Werner's camp has made clear that the young striker will no longer take part in the Champions League campaign of Leipzig. UEFA has set for the remaining ULC matches to resume in August and by that time the German ace is an official Blues roster member.
In effect, however, Werner will miss out on the chance to continue impressing in the Champions League although Chelsea will be in the competition when it resumes. Lampard's side will face off with Bayern Munich but as reported by Metro, it seemed difficult mission for the Premier League club to advance further.
Before the games were suspended in March, Bayern defeated Chelsea in Stamford at 3-0, and the German side, therefore, holds a commanding lead heading to the next match.
If Chelsea will end up getting out of the race too soon, Werner can take comfort on the fact that he can look forward to the next UCL campaign. The Blues are at No. 4 in the Premier League table and are favored to finish in the same spot or a notch higher when the season is concluded.
In any case, Werner should prove a welcome addition to the Lampard side, which has been building up the scoring ability after the ban that prevented the team from signing in the last two transfer windows.
Chelsea took advantage of the opening afforded by Liverpool's decision to ax the Werner trade talks with Leipzig. Reportedly, the Merseyside club is unwilling to pay the £53 million release clause set on the German striker.
Backed by financing from the Chelsea board, Lampard swooped in and triggered the exit clause, thus sealing the jump by Werner. It is said that after the striker's signature has been secured, Lampard's next target is another German recruit, identified as 20-year-old playmaker Kai Havertz.
