According to the reports from the Mirror, Liverpool’s long term target Timo Werner is attracting interest from rivals Manchester United. It is believed that United had sent scouts in every game this season to see Werner in action for RB Leipzig. The German forward signed a new four-year contract in the summer, but he has a release clause in his contract of just £27m.
Concerns for Liverpool
The Red Devils also believe that the lure of playing regular football can help them lure Werner. Liverpool currently have a terrific in-form trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. Werner is likely to find it hard to get game time under Klopp, and that is something which could work in United’s favour.
Moreover, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer requires attacking options after the club parted ways with Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer. All these factors now could go against Liverpool in their chase for Werner.
What should Klopp do?
Given Werner’s talent and abilities, the £27m release clause looks to be relatively cheap and the Reds should look to trigger it in the future if possible. It’s true that Werner might struggle to get game time initially, but with Liverpool competing on all the fronts, the German attacker should see enough minutes under his belt.
For quite some time now, the Champions League holders have been linked with Werner, and it would be disappointing for the team management and the fans to see him move to the arch-rivals Manchester United. The 23-year-old has been in terrific form so far this season as he already has 13 goals to his name in all competitions along with six assists.
His killer instincts in and around the penalty box and his link-up play will make him an ideal fit in the Liverpool system. Moreover, the German international is versatile enough to play anywhere across the front three. His work rate is also something which will suit a manager like Klopp and the way Liverpool play.
The Reds currently have Divock Origi as the backup attacker. Klopp often utilises him in the wide positions as then he can use his pace and trickery to isolate defenders in one on one situations. The club still lacks a real replacement for someone like Firmino though the likes of Mane and Salah have played well in the Brazilian’s absence. Given his age, Werner should be on Liverpool’s transfer list, and with United joining the race, the Liverpool hierarchy should get proactive to sign the German.
