Chelsea: Frank Lampard says he is ‘frustrated’ after Saints draw
Summer signing Timo Werner bagged a double for Chelsea at the weekend - and he has been backed to be a “serious bargain”. Former Blues striker Tony Cascarino reckons he showcased his “full potential” against the Saints and will only go from strength to strength.
Werner arrived in a £48million move from RB Leipzig in the summer after attracting plenty of interest for his goalscoring exploits.
It was Roman Abramovich who funded a move to bring him to Stamford Bridge - breaking the mould with a change in strategy.
In recent years, Abramovich has prioritised physical strikers with an aerial presence, from club legend Didier Drogba to Diego Costa and current striker Olivier Giroud.
But Cascarino believes he is now reaping the rewards of going in a different direction under Frank Lampard.
Abramovich splashed the cash on Timo Werner (Image: Getty)
Werner brings a flexibility as a modern striker capable of playing in a range of positions and he is showing his ability already to become a prolific Premier League goalscorer.
Discussing Werner, Casarino told The Times: “Timo Werner is a departure for Chelsea in terms of the profile of their strikers.
“In the Roman Abramovich era they have typically bought strong, robust forwards with aerial prowess to lead the line such as Didier Drogba, Olivier Giroud and Diego Costa.
“In Werner, they have a dynamo who loves to run in behind and thrives in one-on-one situations.
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Chelsea hope Werner will fire them to more success (Image: Express Sport)
“We saw his full potential with his two goals against Southampton and his performance only underlines the fact that, at £47.5 million, Chelsea have got a serious bargain.”
Another former Chelsea striker, Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, is also a big fan of Werner.
But he has warned Lampard he needs to be playing centrally rather than out on the left flank.
“He is the real deal,” Hasselbaink said about Werner on Sky Sports.
Werner has enjoyed a strong start at Chelsea (Image: Getty)
“He is very sharp, he turns the centre-back quickly, and there is only one thing in his mind. He is not somebody who likes to play with back to goal, he likes to see it and make the run on the shoulder of the centre-backs.
“I like him when he plays through the middle, he does drift to the left, and then comes back to the middle, he is a top striker.
“His runs are limited if he plays on the left as he can only cut back in, he is more restricted and he likes to be free and make runs off the shoulder.
“I didn’t like to play with my back to goal, I couldn’t do it. For me what I have seen of him, he is the real deal, he doesn’t care how they go in.”