Neil Jones: Liverpool will have ‘few regrets’ over missing out on £45m man they tracked ‘extensively’
Neil Jones has said that Liverpool won’t have lost any sleep over missing out on a player who could’ve ‘fitten in’ perfectly at Anfield had he joined Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Reds were strongly linked with Timo Werner for much of 2020 before he opted to join Chelsea for £45m that summer, and the 27-year-old – who’s now back in the Premier League on loan at Tottenham – was generally regarded as a flop at Stamford Bridge despite winning the Champions League three years ago.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest column in the Daily Briefing, the journalist suggested that the forward would’ve been ideal for LFC at the time of his first move to England, but claimed that the subsequent addition of Diogo Jota would’ve dispelled any lingering regrets over missing out on the Germany international.
Jones said of the Spurs loanee: “I think he is a great example of a player whose career could have turned out very differently had he chosen his next move a little more carefully in key moments.
“In 2020, he was very much on the agenda at Liverpool. They tracked him extensively, conducted detailed research into his background and character, and were engaged in a lengthy dialogue with RB Leipzig over a potential deal.
“Chelsea, though, won the argument, convincing the player that he would be a more integral part of their side than at Anfield, where the established front three of Salah, Mane and Firmino was still in its pomp, and offering better personal terms in the process.
“My personal feeling is that had Werner moved to Merseyside, he would have fitted in far better than he ever did in West London. I know he won the Champions League with Chelsea, but it is impossible to regard his transfer as a success, given he scored 10 Premier League goals in two seasons there.
“He was the eighth of 11 penalty takers in a League Cup final shootout against Liverpool, and an unused sub in the FA Cup final a few months later. That tells you how his time at Stamford Bridge went.
“Liverpool harbour few regrets. They signed Diogo Jota after missing out on Werner, and the Portuguese international has proven a very smart acquisition. I suspect Werner would have too, but we’ll never know.”
It must be remembered that Werner came to Chelsea off the back of a sensational 34-goal season for RB Leipzig (Transfermarkt) and was one of the hottest properties in European football in 2020.
His time at the Blues wasn’t a complete washout, with 23 goals in 89 appearances (Transfermarkt), but his poor record in the Premier League led to him being considered an underwhelming acquisition by many pundits.
Liverpool eventually signed Jota for £4m less that year (BBC Sport), and his record of 50 goals in 133 games so far at Anfield (Transfermarkt) indicates that the sliding doors moment which saw us miss out on the German might ultimately have been a blessing in disguise.
It just wasn’t meant to be for Werner and the Reds, and he could well have been a perfect fit in Klopp’s side to supplement the title-winning attacking triumvirate we had at the time.
However, as Jones rightly says, LFC swiftly moved on to the Portuguese attacker and haven’t looked back since. Spurs’ new loan signing may be the one with regrets over what happened four years ago, rather than the Merseysiders.
#Ep98 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones
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