Timo Werner is on his way to Chelsea, with former Blues boss Roberto Di Matteo expecting a player he tried to sign on two occasions in the past to be a “guarantee of goals” for the Blues.
A big-money move for the Germany international striker had been on the cards for some time.
He was considered to have outgrown his surroundings at RB Leipzig – with his time at the Bundesliga outfit ended in style of the final day of the 2019-20 campaign as he became the club’s all-time leading scorer.
Leading sides across Europe lined themselves up to battle it out for a prized signature, with Liverpool considered to have been leading that chase for some time.
Frank Lampard, though, convinced Roman Abramovich that Werner would be a useful addition at Stamford Bridge and triggered a £54 million ($68m) release clause in the 24-year-old’s contract.
Di Matteo, who starred for Chelsea as a player before later returning as boss, believes the Blues are getting quite a talent, with the Italian having been a big fan for some time.
He told the west London club’s official website: “When I was at Schalke, he was at Stuttgart and he was just coming on to the scene.
“During the second part of the season, before I left, I was planning with my sporting director.
“I was saying I wanted to sign this guy, he’s good. He was young, quick, technically good. I said ‘can we not sign this boy Timo’.
“We didn’t in the end and then I resigned and so on. Then I went to Villa. Stuttgart, the season after, they got relegated, and so I enquired again to sign him, but then Leipzig signed him on.”
Werner will be hoping to hit the ground running when he links up with Chelsea, with Di Matteo confident that a prolific marksman can make a positive impression in the Premier League.
The man who guided the Blues to Champions League glory in 2012, added: “I’m a big fan of his and he’s developed really, really well as well.
“He’s a goal scorer, he scores goals, so he can guarantee a certain amount of goals for the team, which is very good, and he’s very pacey as well, he’s fast.”