Thomas Tuchel scoffed at speculation about Timo Werner’s future in Chelsea, urging reporters to read the book instead of transfer rumors.
just one goal
Werner is having a challenging first season at Chelsea since his move from RB Leipzig last summer. The German international have scored just one Premier League goal in 2021 and have not found a bracket in the Champions League since their group stage match against Rennes in early November. Werner’s fight spawned reports that he was unhappy at Stamford Bridge and Tuchel was asked at a press conference if the 25-year-old wanted to return to Germany. “Stop reading, stop reading, what are you reading? Read a book,” the German coach replied to a question about reports of Werner’s misfortune. “There is no book about Timo Werner. So read the book.”
Despite being left on the bench twice in the last month and his coach talked about it during his 2-0 win over Everton, Tuchel said Werner should be happy with his recent form for Chelsea. “For Timo, I think he has no reason to be upset right now because he had an amazing match against Liverpool, maybe his best match since I arrived,” he added. “Then he had a good match against Everton, with a lot of chances to score, which he is normally clinical enough and strong enough. He did not score. Okay, it sticks out in a situation like this. It can affect his self-confidence, of course, but how does it help? The clear advice from us is not to focus on the result, focus on the process, make the right decisions, make the right technique, make the right decisions, and the ball will do the rest.”
“There just isn’t time to think about what will happen in the summer or next year. At the moment I don’t understand why he should be upset. We gave him a little time to breathe against Leeds. It was hard for him to move on, so he was not too involved in the last 20 minutes because it wasn’t our best game, but now I don’t understand why he should be too upset.”
What’s coming for Chelsea
Chelsea faces Atlético Madrid on Wednesday in the return leg of their Champions League draw last-16. The Blues have a 1-0 lead after their first match against Diego Simeone’s team. On Sunday they will turn their attention to the FA Cup as they take on Sheffield United in the quarterfinals.