Liverpool legend John Barnes insists the club dodged a bullet by opting against a £53m deal to sign Timo Werner from RB Leipzig last summer with the striker having struggled since joining Chelsea
- John Barnes believes Liverpool were right not to sign Timo Werner last summer
- Jurgen Klopp’s side were heavily linked with a move for the German striker
- Werner instead joined Chelsea for £53million but has struggled for goals
- Barnes does not think the forward would have done any better at Anfield
Liverpool legend John Barnes believes the club were right not to sign Timo Werner from Red Bull Leipzig last summer as the striker wouldn’t have done any better at Anfield.
The Germany international was heavily linked with the Reds after netting 34 goals and making 13 assists in 45 games last season but ended up joining rivals Chelsea for £53million.
The forward struggled to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge with just five Premier League goals from 25 games and he went 14 games without scoring from November to February.
John Barnes thinks Liverpool were right not to sign Timo Werner from RB Leipzig last summer
The Blues take on Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday and Werner will no doubt be desperate to silence a few critics by getting on the scoresheet.
Many believe the striker’s style of football would have been a better fit with the Reds but Barnes insisted he would not have found life in Merseyside any easier than London.
‘If Werner came to Liverpool he wouldn’t be playing any better, even if he does score at Anfield on Thursday,’ Barnes told BonusCodesBets.co.uk.
The forward has struggled to hit the heights of his prolific goalscoring form in the Bundesliga
The Reds legend does not think the German international would have done better at Anfield
‘He’s a dangerous player and can score when he has confidence, but he wouldn’t play ahead of the front three of Mane, Salah and Firmino, so Liverpool haven’t made a mistake in not signing him.’
Werner has shown signs of improvement under Thomas Tuchel with three assists and a goal in his six games under the German.
However, Chelsea have only managed 10 goals in nine games since the change of manager, with Tuchel focusing on making his team defensively strong. But Barnes does think Werner could cause Liverpool problems with his pace and would rather see Olivier Giroud start ahead of him.
He added: ‘Right now, Werner is not playing with much confidence and not scoring many goals and he isn’t being helped right now as Chelsea don’t seem to score too many goals because Tuchel has them solid at the back.
‘Giroud is playing well and will cause this Liverpool defence a problem because of his physicality, but Liverpool would rather he starts on Thursday because then the defence doesn’t have to tackle the pace of Werner.’