Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has implored the club to bring Timo Werner to Anfield in the summer, believing that the RB Leipzig forward “fits the bill perfectly” for Jurgen Klopp’s team.
The 24-year-old has been linked with a move to the Reds for some time, with the Daily Express claiming that Harry Wilson and Marko Grujic could be sold in order to raise funds for the Germany international, who has a £50 million release clause at RB Leipzig that expires at the end of April.
In his column for the Liverpool Echo, Aldridge wrote that Klopp needs to sign players who would genuinely improve the playing options at his disposal instead of “squad padding” and he feels that a “top drawer” attacking addition should be a priority, naming Werner as an ideal target.
The ex-Republic of Ireland striker said: “I think Liverpool fans can look forward to one or two big names in the transfer window this summer. Jurgen Klopp, like he always has done, has to look for players who are as good or better than he has. No squad padding this summer.”
He added: “Up front is probably the big area, though. At the moment, behind that three of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah, there is only Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino who are playing regularly.
“Liverpool will need another but that one player has to be absolute top drawer. For me, there is only one who fits the bill perfectly. That player is Timo Werner. All day long for me. Whenever I have seen him, he looks like the one for the Reds. For the prices you hear quoted for players, the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Jadon Sancho, in this climate, Werner seems the ideal option.” [via Liverpool Echo]
Aldridge is right to call on Liverpool to invest heavily in elite additions to their squad this summer rather than looking for cut-price bargains, given that the Reds have spent less than £10m on players in the last 12 months, with the majority of that outlay stemming from Minamino’s mid-season addition alone (as per TransferMarkt).
The ex-Liverpool forward is also justified in pushing Werner as a player who should be a summer transfer priority for Klopp. The 24-year-old has hit 27 goals in 36 games for RB Leipzig this season, accruing that tally in 2,832 minutes of game-time (one goal per 104.89 minutes). He has seven more goals than the Reds’ top scorer Mohamed Salah, whose 20 have been bagged in 3,423 minutes (one goal per 171.15 minutes).
Sadio Mane, Liverpool’s next most potent player with 18 goals, has played 3,049 minutes this season, scoring once every 169.39 minutes on average. Roberto Firmino, the Reds’ first-choice centre-forward, has scored 11 goals from his 3,339 minutes of game-time in the current campaign, averaging one goal every 303.54 minutes. The scoring ratio of Werner is substantially better than those of Liverpool’s three leading marksmen.
Aldridge also makes a good point about the value that Werner would represent in comparison to other names on the market. As mentioned by the Daily Express, he could be signed for a reasonably modest £50m if his release clause is activated in the next month. Fellow Liverpool target Sancho, by contrast, has an asking price of £120m from Borussia Dortmund, a fee which could be outside of the Reds’ price range (as per Daily Express). Mbappe, the other forward name-checked by Aldridge, was touted as a possible signing by Julien Laurens on ESPN FC back in January [via Liverpool Echo] but his valuation was quoted at an astronomical €300m (£252.81m).
Werner is a proven scorer for a club who reached the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League and play in the third highest-ranked league in Europe (as per UEFA’s association club coefficient), so Aldridge is talking sense when he says that the 24-year-old seems like he would be the perfect addition to Liverpool’s squad this year.
Liverpool fans, do you agree with Aldridge’s transfer recommendation on Werner? Comment below with your views!
