Chelsea forward Timo Werner has taken drastic action to force Chelsea transfer exit and RB Leipzig return with the Blues looking set to miss out on an opportunity to sign Josko Gvardiol.
The Blues' No.11 stayed behind in England at the medical department back at Cobham, the club confirmed when listing the full squad that made the trip to Italy on Friday. The 25-year-old consequently missed the 3-1 pre-season win over Udinese. At the same time that it was announced that he was absent from the travelling contingent alongside the likes of Michy Batshuayi and Ross Barkley, rumours of a return to RB Leipzig strengthened as soon-to-be teammate Yussuf Poulsen made his feelings clear on the matter.
"I hope he is coming back, he is a good player," Poulsen said in a press conference via insidefutbol.com. "We are a team that are trying to take the next step and develop into one of the biggest clubs in Europe. You need quality players for that. We formed a good partnership in the past."
READ MORE: Timo Werner Chelsea transfer: Real Madrid interest, Juventus want loan, Tuchel blocking exit
His omission despite it being put down to injury reasons by the club, seems to have had a hidden message to it. This is because at the same time that his teammates were playing in Udinese in their first of two pre-season games over this weekend against the Serie A regulars, significant news broke in relation to the German and his immediate future.
Sport Bild have reported that just like Romelu Lukaku did with Inter Milan, Werner has decided to take a 50% pay cut to force through his RB Leipzig return. The structure of the deal being discussed between the two clubs is reportedly going to be a loan with a 'purchase clause' being added to discussions.
football.london understands that nothing is agreed yet but there is a growing confidence that a deal can be done in this situation.
There had been talk of a potential swap deal as the Blues had kept a close eye on two star players from the Bundesliga outfit. However, Christopher Nkunku has already signed a contract extension this summer whilst Domenico Tedesco is adamant to keep hold of defensive target Josko Gvardiol.
Of course, with Gvardiol in particular, Chelsea could still potentially sign him in a standalone deal before the September deadline passes by but they have failed in this situation, to use Werner to broker a deal that would help manager Thomas Tuchel with his defensive rebuild.
Chelsea fans- How do you feel about Timo Werner potentially leaving on loan this summer and what replacement would you bring in? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below!
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