Dhe German national soccer player Timo Werner justified his departure from Chelsea after only two years with the lack of trust of the then coach Thomas Tuchel. “I had a very good first six months at Chelsea. I scored the goals and played well. Then the coach forgot all that a bit, it wasn’t fair,” the 26-year-old told the English newspaper The Sun. Werner switched back to RB Leipzig in August 2022 after two years in London.
“Yes, maybe in the end I just wanted to leave,” said the attacking player, looking back on his time in the Premier League. He had switched back to the Bundesliga to enjoy football again. “I didn’t feel it anymore, but you need that to be successful.” Werner played for Chelsea under coach Frank Lampard for the first six months, then he was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
“In the end, the coach likes some players more than others – that’s completely normal and you have to accept that,” said Werner about working with the former Bundesliga coach. In his first season in London, the Leipziger had scored six goals in 35 Premier League games for Chelsea, in the second there were four goals in 21 games.
Not an easy relationship: Thomas Tuchel (left) discusses with Timo Werner.
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Image: dpa
From Werner’s point of view, one reason for his lower game shares and his growing dissatisfaction was the commitment of star striker Romelu Lukaku, who switched to Chelsea in 2021. “Romelu was a great striker and had to play after costing so much,” said the 55-cap international. “I didn’t feel valued enough.” That was the “hardest moment” for him.
In retrospect, Werner also described his start in London in the middle of the corona pandemic as not very easy. “In the first months nothing was open. I sat at home the whole time, spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve alone to fully concentrate on the games,” said the 26-year-old. “Of course it was hard.” Maybe that’s why it didn’t work out so well for him in London. “Maybe it would have been different in real life, with family and friends around me.”
