Antonio Rudiger the driving force behind Timo Werner's decision to join Chelsea: Report

Frank Lampard's Chelsea emerged out of the blue to lead the race to sign RB Leipzig's red-hot striker Timo Werner. Liverpool were being considered the frontrunners in the Timo Werner transfer saga but Chelsea surpassed the Reds by reportedly offering the 24-year-old a £200,000-per-week contract. Chelsea have now gained the upper hand in the Timo Werner transfer chase. While reports indicate Liverpool pulled out of the Timo Werner transfer due to the financial ramifications of the pandemic, Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger also played an important role in the Timo Werner transfer saga this week, 

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Timo Werner to Chelsea: Antonio Rudiger played a big role in convincing the striker

According to Bild, Liverpool were hesitant to pay the Timo Werner release clause of £50 million considering the loss in revenue due to the halt in football. Chelsea's transfer ban seemingly helped them collect funds to use it to trigger the Timo Werner release clause. However, Bild believes Antonio Rudiger had a big role in convincing Timo Werner to join Chelsea after talking about life in London. Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner played together at Stuttgart and also feature for the German national team. The report further suggests that Antonio Rudiger has been in touch with Timo Werner for a while in order to convince him to move to Stamford Bridge.

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Timo Werner to Chelsea

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Timo Werner to Chelsea: Another reason to choose Chelsea over Liverpool.

Timo Werner seemingly had one more reason to choose Chelsea over Liverpool. The 24-year-old was reportedly offered a starting role in Frank Lampard's side, while Liverpool would have asked him to bid his time in order to cement his place in the lineup. While Jurgen Klopp has the luxury to field arguably the most potent attacking trio in world football in the form of Salah, Mane and Firmino, reports indicate that Werner would only have broken into the lineup in his first season at Anfield when Salah and Mane would be away on Africa Cup of Nations duty. 

Chelsea, on the other hand, have been on the lookout for a No. 9 ever since Diego Costa acrimoniously left the club. Lampard also publicly bemoaned his side's lack of clinical touch in front of goal earlier this season. Timo Werner has netted a total of 25 goals in 29 Bundesliga appearances and four goals in eight Champions League games this season. He has also provided 12 assists in all competitions this season. 

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