Timo Werner has pledged his loyalty to RB Leipzig, handing Manchester United and Liverpool a major blow in their summer pursuit of the player.
As reported by Daily Mirror, Timo Werner has addressed widespread speculation surrounding his future at RB Leipzig. The German striker has handed a bitter blow to Manchester United and Liverpool’s hopes of signing him in the summer transfer window by pledging his future to the Bundesliga club.
Werner’s stock has been on the ascendancy ever since his move to RB Leipzig from boyhood club Vfb Stuttgart in the summer of 2015. In fact, the player has completely transformed at the Red Bull Arena, with manager Ralph Hassenhuttl converting him from an erratic winger to a prolific striker.
Werner has also gone on to cement his place in the German National Side over the last two years, and has led the line for the national team with elan, winning the Golden Boot at last year’s Confederations Cup. His stupendous progress has piqued the interest of several clubs, particularly from the Premier League, where Manchester United and Liverpool are tailing him.
At Manchester United, Jose Mourinho has several attacking superstars at his disposal, with Romelu Lukaku his first-choice striker. The interest from the Red Devils is, thus, a bit surprising, unless Mourinho is considering deploying Werner in the wide areas.
If so, the 22-year-old is a viable target for Manchester United, as he might just be the solution on the right flank that the manager has been looking for. But, Liverpool hold a long-standing interest in him as well.
Jurgen Klopp does have the prolific trio of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane at his disposal. But, there is very little attacking quality beyond the trio, especially following the departure of Philippe Coutinho in January, explaining why Liverpool are taking a keen interest in Werner.
But, the player has now gone on to pledge his future to RB Leipzig, thereby effectively ending Liverpool and Manchester United’s pursuit of him. In the interview with FourFourTwo, as reported by the Mirror, Werner has said that while he is interested in a future move to the Premier League, he is not going anywhere just yet.
“Playing in the Premier League is a dream for me. I would like to play for two or three clubs, and Manchester United are one of those clubs. But probably not in the next few years—later, when my English is a little bit better! I’m very comfortable at RB Leipzig, though.”
His comments suggest that Manchester United will be at the front of the line in the race to sign him whenever he decides to move away from RB Leipzig, provided they are interested as well. For now though, neither the Red Devils nor Liverpool can sign him and have to turn their attention elsewhere for summer reinforcements.
