Borussia Dortmund have identified Chelsea striker Timo Werner as a potential replacement for Erling Haaland should the Norwegian leave the club next summer, according to SportBild.
Borussia Dortmund List Timo Werner as Potential Erling Haaland Replacement
Haaland is Expected to Leave the Club this Summer
Twenty-one-year-old forward Haaland will likely leave Dortmund this summer when his €75 million release clause becomes active. The striker’s goal record of 66 goals in 66 games in his time at the Signal Iduna Park has impressed Europe’s elite clubs.
According to this report, Dortmund have been planning for his exit already – identifying Timo Werner as a ‘surprising solution’ to the gap that Haaland’s departure will leave in Marco Rose’s squad at the end of the season.
The German international has faced criticism throughout his spell at Stamford Bridge for missing several clear goalscoring opportunities.
No Premier League player has missed more Big Chances in league and European competition this season than Timo Werner:
◎ 29 Big Chances
◉ 21 missed
◎ 8 scoredAnother huge chance tonight. #UCL pic.twitter.com/ovzyM1kFdZ
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 27, 2021
Werner’s spell in Germany was more prolific. He scored 78 Bundesliga goals in 127 appearances and he is RB Leipzig’s all-time leading goalscorer with 95 goals for the club in all competitions.
Dortmund Look for Attributes Not Records
The Rhine club are well aware that finding a striker to score a goal per game as Haaland does is a near-impossible task. The club can replace the style of striker Rose’s sides will be missing. While Werner’s finishing has been called into question throughout his Chelsea career, he has been praised for clever movement and runs in behind the defence, with speed that can hurt teams.
Werner is not a carbon copy of Haaland – no one is. He can, however, carry the running threat that Dortmund use so effectively to create chances for the rest of the team.
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