Paul Merson delivers honest verdict on Timo Werner’s imminent move to Tottenham Hotspur

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Paul Merson has backed former Chelsea striker Timo Werner to ‘cause havoc’ at Tottenham Hotspur.

Sources have told HITC that the RB Leipzig frontman is due to fly to London on Sunday for a medical ahead of a proposed loan move to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur.

There is an option for the London club to buy the German international at the end of the season for ‘£15.5 million’.

Paul Merson admitted that he was a little ‘harsh’ on Timo Werner when he was at Chelsea and backed him to be a problem on a ‘big pitch at Tottenham’, as he told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (06/01/24 at 2:20 pm).

The issue Paul Merson highlighted was the player’s inability to say onside when running in behind.

In 89 matches in all competitions for Chelsea, he scored 23 goals and supplied 21 assists, including winning the Champions League.

But Paul Merson spoke a bit more confidently about the player now and his imminent transfer to Spurs.

Timo Werner’s Tottenham medical

“No, he didn’t (set the world alight at Chelsea),” said Merson.

“It looks like Ange loves pace. He loves pace. I was a bit harsh on Werner. The thing I was harsh on him at Chelsea, he is lightning quick and he (Ange) looks like he likes pace at Tottenham by buying players like Johnson.

“If he can time his runs right on a big pitch at Tottenham, then he will cause havoc. But he was offside so many times at Chelsea, for someone who is that quick. If you’re not quick, then you need to play on the shoulder. You need to take a chance. If you play like Werner, then you don’t have to be (on the shoulder).”

Will Timo Werner be a success at Tottenham?

The one big positive is that he is going to play in a system that suits his style down to the bone.

Postecoglou wants his sides to press, be aggressive and push up the pitch as high as possible, including playing his fullbacks like number 10s.

That requires Werner to constantly be on the front foot and think about one thing only, which is attacking the penalty box with all his will.

Not many are going to doubt that Werner will create chances and be on the end of chances, it’s just a case of finishing them off.

But what do Spurs have to lose here? He is on a loan deal, playing with reliable attackers around him, in a system that suits him and much better equipped to deal with the Premier League this time around, so this could prove to be a masterstroke from the club.