Thomas Tuchel appears to be avoiding a repeat of the Romelu Lukaku controversy that plagued the start of 2022 and saw the striker miss Chelsea's clash with Liverpool in the aftermath of Timo Werner's interview on international duty. The German forward noted that the national team's style of football suited him better than the tactics Chelsea employ.
The words may be reminiscent of Lukaku lamenting Tuchel's tactics in his explosive interview that was released over the festive period. On that occasion, the Blues boss left the Belgian out of his squad against Liverpool to avoid the noise that had been created.
Werner's struggle to replicate his goalscoring exploits he was renowned for at RB Leipzig are not dissimilar to Lukaku's own struggles, but the forward has endeared himself to supporters with his effort and work rate. Nevertheless, the 26-year-old has had his frustrations in the last 18 months. He's only made eight Premier League starts this season and scored seven goals across 28 appearances in all competitions.
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"I'm a striker and always want to score. Things aren't going the way I'd like at Chelsea, so it's all the better that things are going well here under Hansi Flick," Werner said.
"I really enjoy playing football, no matter where I'm playing. There are differences in the style of play between football at Chelsea and here. Maybe the one at the national team suits me better. Here, I always have scoring chances, and I can score goals. I feel very comfortable here."
While with Lukaku, the issue was with what he said, in Werner's case, what he didn't say may have been more telling. Does being very comfortable with Germany mean he isn't with Chelsea? It's possible, but he did note that he enjoys playing football wherever he is.
Despite heading to Stamford Bridge as a coup when the Blues signed him ahead of Liverpool in the summer of 2020, Werner simply doesn't bring the same 'noise' as the £97.5 million Chelsea paid for Lukaku. This interview came on international duty, and Tuchel believes there was little ill intent from Werner, who struggled for an answer. Lukaku's emerged during the busiest moment of the season and became a bombshell.
Tuchel said: "Some of my staff told me about the interview. I did not even look at the interview. They told me they really wanted to have this kind of line because Timo was struggling to find a good answer to the question. With all due respect, maybe it also depends a little bit on the opponents if you score or don't score."
While Werner may not be dismissed from the squad to assess any implications of the interview, a start against Brentford is far from assured. His goal against Israel was a clever finish, but the only other backline he has breached of late is Luton's in the FA Cup. While Werner has been linked with transfers to AC Milan, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund in recent weeks, Tuchel doesn't believe the Premier League is too difficult for his charge.
"No, I'm saying that many leagues and the Premier League are a bit better than the teams they played against in the last weeks," said Tuchel. "So it is natural that you struggle a bit more. In general, I don't take these things too personally. I never read them, and I never listen to them. I don't care too much about these things otherwise, you have a headache all the time."
