It’s not often you see a selling club thinking about where their asset will do best. Usually, and almost understandably, their sole concern is money – so it’s very impressive to hear Ralph Rangnick talking about Timo Werner like this…
The German, a former coach of Rb Leipzig who still works for Red Bull as a sporting director, has claimed Werner would thrive at Liverpool for tactical reasons – as Jurgen Klopp’s Reds play with fast transitions and are not solely a possession team.
Werner has been consistently linked with an Anfield switch for the past six months, but the coronavirus pandemic has laid significant doubt on the transfer.
If the striker were to leave though, Rangnick wouldn’t mind Liverpool being his new team.
“The league is less important. But the club. From a purely hypothetical point of view, I would better see him in good hands with a club that is not necessarily defined by ball possession football,” he told Bild.
“Since Timo has made progress under Julian Nagelsmann. His most important weapons, however, are the quick switch-over movement and his powerful finish. Therefore, he would rather fit a club like Liverpool, which is similar to our style of play. But I would prefer him to stay here.
“The best place to see him is where a team switches quickly or quickly counterpresses after losing a ball. This is how Timo was trained at VfB Stuttgart in the next generation and has matured with us in the past four years to the player he is today.”
The manner in which Rangnick understands our tactics and explains how Werner would thrive in them actually excites us.
We don’t think Rb Leipzig will stand in our way if a suitable bid comes in, and Werner himself would obviously jump at the chance.
Still, right now, it’s a waiting game – and the most important thing from a football perspective is getting the Premier League wrapped up.