Goal.com
Chelsea have been advised that using Timo Werner in a wide attacking role may be their best option when the German forward joins their ranks, with Jesse Marsch talking up the qualities of the versatile 24-year-old.
The Blues won the race for a prized signature, with the decision to trigger Werner’s £54 million ($68m) release clause allowing them to acquire one of Europe’s most prolific frontmen.
Frank Lampard is still waiting on clearance to be given for Werner to head for Stamford Bridge, with quarantine procedures during the coronavirus pandemic delaying matters.
Werner is, however, readying himself for a new challenge and is being backed by many to become a Premier League superstar in 2020-21.
Marsch forms part of that fan club, with the American coach having spent time working with the Germany international at Leipzig.
For him, Werner is at his most destructive when given freedom to drift rather than being locked into a central striking role, with Chelsea needing to find a way of fitting those qualities into their tactical blueprint.
“He likes to drift to the left and then come in with his right,” Marsch, who is now in charge of Red Bull Salzburg, told Bleacher Report’s Football Ranks podcast. “He can drag the ball [out wide] and cross it or come across the goal as well.
“He’s also good at finishing crosses from the right side when he’s attacking in the box, but he’s also good in the middle and he’s good on the right, too.
“I think if you’re playing with two strikers, which is what we did often at Leipzig, we gave them freedom to move to the left.
“We built that in tactically so he could find ways to be on the move but dangerous, but he could play as a second striker, he could play on the right, he can play in a front three, he can play any of those positions.
“Again, he will work against the ball, he will defend, he’ll work for the team, and the other thing that’s so special about Timo is that for a guy who sprints so much in a game, he’s always healthy.
“That’s unusual, those sprinters that are so aggressive, they pick up a lot of soft-tissue muscle injuries. Timo has been incredibly fit and hopefully he can stay that way.”
It remains to be seen where Lampard chooses to deploy Werner, with Chelsea having seen Christian Pulisic star on the left of their attack this season, while Hakim Ziyech is about to join the ranks and Callum Hudson-Odoi is another wing option of considerable promise.
