SHARE

Timo Werner to Chelsea is turning into something of a saga.

Recent reports in Germany suggested it would all be sorted out by now, with it being claimed the Blues needed to pay the striker’s clause to RB Leipzig on or before June 15th.

Those claims were clearly wide of the mark, yet the likelihood of a move to Frank Lampard’s club has only been further backed up in recent days. Tuesday morning saw claims from Germany that Werner is so keen on the Chelsea move that he may decide not to play in RB Leipzig’s remaining Champions League matches.

That would see him leave the German club when the Bundesliga season comes to an end, quicker than he would have otherwise done.

Unsurprisingly, at the first attempt the German media have quizzed Julian Nagelsmann on that situation, and the Leipzig manager clearly didn’t want to cross that bridge just yet.

Quoted by Kicker, Nagelsmann said: “It’s not like I read somewhere that I don’t fight for him. He knows how much I like him and what I think of him. That’s why he plays every week and also sometimes played when he was weaker than he can be. That’s confirmation enough. Nevertheless, some things go beyond the coach’s wish. Each player has his own career and life plan. The change is still not completed, so we don’t need to talk about step two. If step one is done, we’ll see how the Champions League continues.”

Step one would be Chelsea paying the clause, and then step two is decision time over when the move will actually happen.