Timo Werner’s future seems entirely linked with Liverpool’s transfer plans right now and details have emerged clearing up the German forward’s release clause.
The Reds have been rumoured to be admirers of Werner for well over a year, with bids expected last year and this—before coronavirus changed the entire transfer market landscape.
Now there is an expectation that fees may be lower or planned transfers not go ahead at all, with clubs putting back their operations by a year to ride out the current crisis.
Werner’s move looks set to be similarly affected—and the player has already decided that he wants a move to Anfield and nowhere else, be it this year or next.
That’s according to David Ornstein of the Athletic, who has unearthed the truth about Werner’s release clause from RB Leipzig, which changes year to year.
And the finances might well dictate that 12 months from now is the optimal time to make a move for the 24-year-old.
Ornstein also says that Werner has spoken directly to Jurgen Klopp, with those discussions taking place shortly before the Reds’ last game before matches were postponed.
- Report suggests Werner wants Liverpool move or one more year at Leipzig
- ‘Release clause’ says Reds can start talks at €47.5m; €60m obliges a sale
- Next year the clause lowers to €40m for a sale
- In 2022 it would be €25m, with Werner’s contract expiring in ’23
- Ornstein suggests “no chance” of a deal this summer at more than €40m
While Liverpool have often proven patient when it comes to securing their first-choice targets—see long waits to snare Virgil van Dijk and Naby Keita—there have been differing reports over the club’s planned activity this summer.
The Mirror‘s David Maddock had claimed there was likely to be a no-spend policy for 2020 at Liverpool, despite earlier plans to invest after a quiet 2019 window.
That has since been refuted by other journalists, though it remains to be seen the extent to which Liverpool are prepared to spend, on individual deals and overall.
In responses to readers asking about the article, Ornstein further states he has enquired about the Reds’ plans and “the club insist they will not be making any signings for notable transfer fees this summer, more likely lower figures on a couple of future prospects.”
Clearly, there is still more to run on this particular story and the full effects, economic and otherwise, of the pandemic and the shutdown of sport cannot fully be calculated until a return to action in England is confirmed.
Werner, meanwhile, will be in action today, Saturday—with Leipzig resuming their Bundesliga quest at home to Freiburg at 2:30pm.
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