Timo Werner has signed a new contract at Bundesliga high-flyers RB Leipzig but could he still end up in the Premier League with Liverpool?
Signing a new contract and ‘committing your future’ to a club are two very different things.
Although Timo Werner put pen to paper at RB Leipzig on Sunday, signing a deal which apparently ties him down until 2023, don’t expect the Germany international to still be thumping in the goals at the Red Bull Arena in four years.
Werner was due to become a free agent this time next summer and Leipzig, for obvious reasons, were loathe to lose their prized asset for absolutely nothing. Therefore, claims from Kicker that Werner’s new deal contains a £26 million release clause bring the phrase ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to mind.
Reading between the lines, it seems fairly obvious that the former Stuttgart starlet has signed in the proviso that he will be allowed to leave on the cheap after one more season. A low release-clause feels like a reward for a player who has promised his employers 12 more months of loyal service.
£26 million for a top class, international-level centre-forward may be a bargain in this day and age but it is certainly a lot more than Leipzig would have got if they allowed Werner’s contract to run down. Everyone wins here. Including, potentially, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
The Champions of Europe have been tracking this jet-heeled goal-scorer for a number of years and were linked by the Echo in April. And make no mistake, news of Werner’s release clause has not gone unnoticed.
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