Germany's missing link, RB Leipzig star Timo Werner has the world at his feet
His RB Leipzig club-mates suggest he could become one of the world’s best while a former legendary striker insists Germany can retain their world crown with him on board, and forward Timo Werner is making all the right noises as he looks to prove everyone concerned correct. Another game for Die Mannschaft last week yielded yet another goal for the Leipzig marksman. France were the latest international outfit to feel the Werner effect, the 21-year-old scoring against one of the 2018 FIFA World Cup favourites in the recent 2-2 friendly draw in Cologne. Watch: Sit back, relax and enjoy Timo Werner's top five Bundesliga goals! That goal brought the former Stuttgart striker’s tally on the international stage to seven in 10 outings under Joachim Löw – and in Werner, many now believe Germany have found the final piece to fit into what will be a fearsome first-choice XI in Russia. “With him, we can win the tournament,” former Germany and Schalke favourite Gerald Asamoah told kicker recently. “He’s a strong finisher, very fast, can get in behind defences and create spaces in deep-lying positions; Timo Werner is just very, very good.” "You have to ask yourself, what happened to the boy in Leipzig? Before he was relatively good in Stuttgart, but not a complete scorer – how he has since developed at Leipzig is sensational," Asamoah continued. The top-scoring German in the Bundesliga with 21 goals in 31 top-flight appearances last season, Werner again leads the list of his fellow countrymen in the goalscoring charts this time around with seven in 10 top-flight games. Indeed, despite a spell on the sidelines with a neck complaint, Werner has still managed to clock up 11 goals in 17 appearances across all competitions for his club this term. “I’m happy we’re on the same team because he’s difficult for opposition players to stop; his pace, his exceptional technique and finishing – he’s a class striker,” was how Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano described his team-mate in an exclusive interview with bundesliga.com recently. “He definitely has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world.” Werner has now registered in the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, DFB Cup, FIFA World Cup qualifiers and in the FIFA Confederations Cup for Germany, the trophy he raised following a final win against Chile last summer. "I've rarely seen a striker as goal hungry as he is," national team coach Löw said in praise of the ultra-fast forward. Already part of the Stuttgart history books having become the Swabians’ youngest ever debutant and goalscorer, Werner is also the Bundesliga’s youngest player to score twice in the same game and to reach 50 top-flight appearances. And should he continue to score at his current rate for Germany, the man whom the nation longed for following the retirement of the legendary Miroslav Klose, might well have been found. Focused, fired up and fearing no opponent, Werner is targeting trophies and record goalscoring tallies as he tears up the tarmac on the road to glory. Click here for more RB Leipzig news and features!
World Cup watch: Germany and RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner
Germany are bidding to win the FIFA World Cup for a record-equalling fifth time this summer, and become the first nation to win back-to-back crowns since Brazil in 1962. Who is he? Happily, the reigning world champions appear to have found their rightful heir to record goalscorer Miroslav Klose in RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner. Klose's international retirement following Germany's 2014 FIFA World Cup win left head coach Joachim Löw with a serious conundrum, but Werner has solved the riddle. The Leipzig man has scarcely been out of the side since making his international debut in March 2017, plundering eight goals in 14 appearances, and claiming the top scorer's prize at the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup. What position does he play? Werner’s club form is no less arresting. The 22-year-old helped himself to 21 goals in 2016/17 - a best-mark for a German national - a further 13 in 2017/18 and a combined tally of seven in Europe. A man for the history books, the VfB Stuttgart academy product is also the Bundesliga's youngest player to score a brace – one of many feats achieved at his boyhood club, before the age of 19. A forward rather than a classic No.9, Werner comes alive when given a ball to chase. A nuisance on the counter and menace on the shoulder of the last man, he’s always looking to get on the end of that killer pass. Watch: The turbo-charged story of Timo Werner What was is role in qualifying? Werner played in three of Germany’s six qualifiers.
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