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Thierry Henry explains why Timo Werner struggled at Chelsea.
Formal Arsenal professional footballer Thierry Daniel Henry has explained why Timo Werner has struggled at Chelsea football club.
Thierry Henry believes Timo Werner struggled at Chelsea because he was lacking confidence and didn’t ‘feel the love’ at Stamford Bridge.
Werner joined Chelsea in 2020 after a £50 million transfer from RB Leipzig, where he made 89 appearances and scored 23 goals.
The German international was criticized frequently for his lack of output even though he won the Champions League and advanced to three Wembley finals while playing in west London.
Last summer, Chelsea agreed to sell Werner for almost half the amount they paid for him, with the 26-year-old returning to RB Leipzig on a four-year contract.
Werner has continued his impressive play from last season in the Bundesliga, scoring seven goals in 13 games, including the game-winning goal against Celtic on Tuesday.
After the game, former striker Henry talked about Werner’s comeback and said it is obvious he feels more confident and at ease wearing an RB Leipzig jersey.
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He said on CBS Sports:
‘I will call it confidence. You have players who don’t care if you put your arm around them. They will come, execute and leave.
‘Then you have some players that need to feel the love. They need to feel maybe that they are going to play for 90 minutes. The best example is the second goal.
‘First and foremost on the first control, Timo Werner would never have put that ball down at Chelsea, and then he would never have seen [Emil] Forsberg.
‘He would have rushed it trying to do something, overthinking it and overdoing it. I saw it before, he was calm before and he is calm again.
‘Maybe he would have shot [when he brought the ball down] because people said he can’t score at Chelsea – it gives you confidence when you score again. Then I see him pass it with his left foot at the right time.
‘Sometimes you go to some places, they don’t show you that love, I’m not saying he didn’t have it, but if he didn’t feel it like he felt it at Leipzig, then you aren’t going to be at your best and you won’t take the right decision.’
After leaving Chelsea last summer, Werner thanked the Blues fans for their support through ‘challenging times’.
‘Dear Blues, today marks the end of my journey with Chelsea FC,’ he posted on social media.
‘I am incredibly grateful for the time I spent at this special club. At this point I would like to express my appreciation for my teammates, the coaches and staff, and especially for you, the supporters of Chelsea Football Club.
‘I felt so much love and support throughout the last two years and I will never forget how you guys stood behind me in good and in challenging times!
‘We lifted trophies like the Champions League together and I will always remember the song you wrote and chanted for me. I’m already looking forward to hopefully playing at Stamford Bridge again one day!’