Picture the scene. Liverpool are interested in signing a forward after frequent speculation and initial contact is made. However, they don’t get a deal done and said forward joins Chelsea.
However, said forward then flops at Stamford Bridge and leaves after a couple of seasons, before moving to Anfield and becoming one of the best players in the world. Sound familiar? It should do.
That is exactly what happened with Mohamed Salah, with Liverpool first looking to sign the Egyptian when he was still with Basel back in January 2014. They had been the front-runners to sign the forward too, only to fail to agree a deal with the Swiss outfit and allowing Chelsea to beat them to his signature by completing an £11m transfer.
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Yet, the Egypt international’s move to Stamford Bridge did not go to plan as he struggled for first team opportunities and made just 13 Premier League appearances. After a year at the club, he was sent on loan to Fiorentina, with a temporary move to Roma following in summer in 2015.
Successfully rebuilding his reputation in Serie A, the move to the eternal city was made permanent in the summer of 2016. A year later, after another prolific campaign for Roma, he moved back to the Premier League with Liverpool.
And the rest, as they say is history. But could it be about to happen again?
Liverpool were heavily linked with Timo Werner throughout the 2019/20 season and he reportedly even held talks with Jurgen Klopp, with the Reds expected to make a move for him that summer to take advantage of a £47.5 million release clause in his RB Leipzig contract. The Germany international even spoke publicly about his admiration for Klopp and his side in the midst of such speculation.
But then the coronavirus pandemic struck, football was postponed and Liverpool’s transfer plans had to change. Keeping their powder dry due to the financial ramifications of the global crisis, they were left unable to move for Werner in June 2020, as Chelsea instead swooped in to activate his release clause.
With his release clause set to expire that summer, neither player nor club were in a position to wait and the Reds missed out as a result. Instead, Liverpool waited until September before bringing in Diogo Jota from Wolves in a £45m deal, with the Portuguese’s success at Anfield, winning two trophies and scoring 34 goals over the past two seasons ensuring they have ultimately had no regrets.
Yet, it has been a different story for Werner at Chelsea. Reportedly paid a significantly higher wage than he could have hoped for on Merseyside, said to be worth over £270k a week, he has won the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, he also suffered defeat to the Reds in both the FA Cup and League Cup finals last season
However, he also struggled for goals, confidence and starts, finding the back of the net just 10 times in the Premier League from 56 appearances and see his overall number of starts reduce from 44 in 2020/21 to 24 in 2021/22 following the club-record £97.5m signing of Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian would ultimately struggle back at Stamford Bridge and is on the verge of a return to Inter Milan, but he might not be the only striker leaving Chelsea this summer.
Taken over by Todd Boehly this summer, manager Thomas Tuchel reportedly has a £200m warchest to play with as he looks to overhaul his squad. And, like Lukaku, Werner could be one of the players to make way with his future in the capital uncertain as a result.
Reports earlier this week claimed Liverpool will reignite their interest in the 26-year-old should he depart Chelsea. With Salah’s future at Anfield uncertain, with his current deal set to expire in 2023 and no breakthrough in negotiations being found as of yet, the Reds could be in the market for a new senior forward in the months ahead.
Sporting director Julian Ward was tasked with refreshing Liverpool’s attack this year in the face of Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino being the wrong side of 30 and out of contract next week, and has acted accordingly. Sanctioning the Senegalese’s £35m move to Bayern Munich, the Reds signed Luis Diaz six months earlier than originally planned back in January, with £85m club-record signing Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho following this summer.
It remains to be seen what will happen with Salah and Firmino’s futures, though Liverpool have not given up hope of keeping the Egyptian at Anfield. But regardless of the outcome of negotiations, they are still looking to a future without their famous front three and have acted accordingly with this trio of signings.
Yet, should Salah leave at the end of his contract next summer, with his willingness to remain in the Premier League prompting speculation regarding a potential return to Chelsea, could Werner end up replacing him at Anfield?
At this time, with the Reds’ transfer business done for the summer and Werner’s future potentially being resolved before the transfer window closes, such a deal looks unlikely. Meanwhile, whether the Londoners would be willing to sell to a title-rival or if Liverpool would meet the German’s wage demands only add to that.
Yet the suggestion that the Reds could maintain interest in Werner is not out of the question, considering it wouldn’t be the first time they have gone back in for a player after missing out on him the first time, with Salah the most famous example. Should that happen, his failings at Chelsea would not put off Liverpool with the Egyptian again the best example of how right things can fall at a different club.
In Klopp, the Reds boast one of the best man-managers in the business and one who is capable of getting a tune out of any player. Having reportedly been interested in Werner while he was Borussia Dortmund manager too, it’s safe to assume if any manager can get his compatriot back scoring goals at the same rate of knots he showed in the Bundesliga, it’s the Liverpool boss.
Admittedly, that doesn’t stop the prospect of Werner swapping Stamford Bridge for Anfield from being an unlikely one. Yet it’s worth noting he had been expected to move to Liverpool in the first place back in 2020. Should such speculation continue, perhaps we should expect the unexpected.
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