As a child, Timo Werner could not handle a goalless appearance.
"When Timo didn't find the net in a game, he'd get very upset," Werner's former Stuttgart youth coach Marc Kienle remembered. "He was simply inconsolable unless he got on the scoresheet."
In recent years, Werner has become increasingly familiar with that sense of disappointment which - for his sake - has hopefully dulled with experience.
Werner hit double digits for Bundesliga goals in each of his first four seasons at RB Leipzig but has yet to break the ten-goal barrier since his £47.5m transfer to Chelsea in the lockdown summer of 2020. Across his two ill-fated Premier League campaigns in west London, Werner could only muster a combined ten goals.
Yet, 18 months after returning to Leipzig and failing to recapture the form from his first spell, there is the imminent possibility of Werner racing back to London with Tottenham Hotspur reportedly interested.
Leipzig head coach Marco Rose made a public call to Werner in September, demanding the out-of-form 27-year-old "defend himself" and prove "with every appearance - no matter how short it is - that he wants to be back in the first team and in every training session".
Werner rose to Rose's provocation the following day. Coming off the bench for the final 20 minutes, Werner rolled back the years with a trademark burst behind Borussia Monchengladbach's defence, taking the ball around goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas before picking out the side-netting from an acute angle.
A first goal in five months won the match for Leipzig but Werner has only scored once (a penalty) since. The most prolific marksman in Leipzig's history has played just 39 minutes of competitive football since Halloween, nudged to fourth-choice in Rose's striker options behind Lois Openda, Yussuf Poulsen and Benjamin Sesko.
Tottenham do not have such luxuries in attacking depth. While Ange Postecoglou has stressed the need for a centre-back, the squad is thin all over.
The promising Uruguayan Alejo Veliz was the only striker Tottenham signed over the summer. Yet, the youthful forward, a talent for the future rather than Harry Kane's immediate replacement, has joined the club's overcrowded treatment room. Veliz is expected to be out with a knee injury until March.
Spurs will also be without Kane's actual replacement until spring. More than a quarter of all Tottenham's Premier League shots have either been taken or created by Son Heung-min. South Korea's talismanic skipper could easily be at the 2023 AFC Asian Cup until mid-February, missing as many as six Spurs fixtures.
Werner was dubbed 'Turbo Timo' in his youth and may perhaps struggle to match his top speeds of yesteryear - this season, Werner's fastest sprint was slower than Borussia Dortmund's towering but not particularly swift 6'5 centre-back Niklas Sule.
Yet, the German is well-versed in pressing football as a graduate of Leipzig's high-energy approach. This willingness and appreciation of how to press will serve him well in a Tottenham team that has completed more high turnovers than any other Premier League side this season.
Club | Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
Stuttgart | 103 | 14 | 11 |
RB Leipzig | 213 | 113 | 47 |
Chelsea | 89 | 23 | 21 |
Werner has been heading for the exit door at Leipzig since November when 90min reported that Leipzig were open to a sale.
The London triumvirate of Fulham, Crystal Palace and West Ham United emerged as earlier contenders before Manchester United voiced their interest. The Red Devils have subsequently pivoted towards outgoings rather than arrivals, leaving the door open for Spurs to arrive on the scene as surprise suitors.
Contact has reportedly been made between the two clubs, with Spurs eyeing up a six-month loan across the second half of the season. A loan fee still has to be agreed and the clubs are haggling over how much of Werner's salary will be covered by the Premier League side.
Postecoglou has been at pains to dismiss any quick fixes in the winter window. "What we need to do is just keep building," the Australian coach wearily told reporters. However, Werner could offer some much-needed and cost-effective cover for a patchy forward line.